media releases

“The report form the the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare released yesterday indicates that $1.7 billion are wasted every year treating patients in hospital who should have been treated better in the community,” said Dr Tim Woodruff, President, Doctors Reform Society. “The main cause for this wastage, the report claims, is inadequate care in the community.”

“This is a crushing indictment of the Federal Government which is responsible for the funding of and access to, general practitioner care throughout Australia,” said Dr Woodruff.

“For our patients this means unnecessary admission to hospital because they can’t get adequate treatment in the community eg in nursing homes”, said Dr Woodruff.

“In addition it means year long waits to get into public hospitals for elective surgery, and day long waits in emergency departments because patients who should never have needed admission are taking up a bed.”

“This puts a lie to the claim that public hospital problems are just a State responsibility,” said Dr Woodruff. “It’s time the Federal Government recognised that it is failing to deliver widespread accessible affordable general practitioner services to all Australians.”

Dr Tim Woodruff
President
Doctors Reform Society

Dr Con Costa
Vice President
Doctors Reform Society

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