01-07-2010

Lack of detail causing planning confusion for hospitals, aged care

Hospital and aged care service planning is in uncertainty across Australia as the Government continues to make health reform announcements without detailing how they work with the yet to
be established Local Hospital Networks, Catholic Health Australia (CHA) said today.

Today's 'Framework for development of Primary Healthcare Organisations’ leaves health and aged care organisations in the dark as to how Primary Health Care Organisations will improve
integration with general practice, CHA CEO Martin Laverty said.

The Framework calls for Primary Health Care Organisations, to be known as Medicare Locals, to work with health professionals to 'cooperate and collaborate'.

Mr Laverty said the Federal Government should establish a health reform implementation commission to pin down the detail of reform and enable health and aged care providers to plan for the future.

“We remain supportive of the health reform proposals, but we're yet to see detail as to how the new system will actually work towards improvement in patient care. The uncertainty is now causing planning confusion within health and aged care services,” he said.

“The Framework for Medicare Locals, by its own admission, was drafted without consultation with health care providers. If hospital providers and aged care services are not consulted, you have to wonder just how integration between primary, acute, and aged care will be achieved.

“The challenge for the Federal Government, noted in today's Framework, is that most primary care in Australia is delivered through private practice and those employed in non government
organisations.

“Getting 'cooperation and collaboration' from this diverse group with remarkably different interests and motivations is hard. It can't be done with a big stick, but can be done with incentives. It's unclear as to if Medicare Locals will have either power or resources to offer
incentives required to achieve 'cooperation and collaboration',” Mr Laverty said.

The CHA Survey of Access to General Practice Services in Residential Aged Care released last month found 57 per cent of aged care home respondents had on occasion transferred residents to hospital emergency departments because of a doctor shortage. Eighteen per cent reported having to do so 'fairly frequently' or 'regularly'.

“There are parts of Australia where residents of aged care homes are unable to see a doctor when needed. They are left with no choice but to be taken to hospital. This is just one problem Medicare Locals will need to address,” Mr Laverty said.

“A health reform implementation commission, comprising government and non-government groups, should be formed to work on the detail of reform so that health care providers can have some certainty about future planning for their services.”