From the President: Innovation and reform

As AMA Victoria’s newly elected President and on behalf of all our members, I wish to thank sincerely our immediate past president, Doug Travis, for his hard work and dedication to the job over the past two years. He is a hard act to follow.

I also wish to thank outgoing Board members Vice President David Bainbridge and Federal Council representative Tim Ross for their valuable contribution. They will continue to contribute to our profession in many other ways.

After substantial recent wins in areas such as the public hospital doctors’ enterprise bargaining agreement and achieving grandfathering of the RRMA arrangements for our regional and rural GP colleagues, we have many future challenges to manage.

Over the next year we must ensure the government honours its commitments: to add the extra public hospital beds, to implement all aspects of the EBA, including the minimum standard of 20 per cent of clinical support time for senior doctors, and to follow through in its funding commitment to mental health.

Aged care and care for the mentally ill remains in a parlous state and will therefore maintain its position high on AMA Victoria’s agenda.

Poor government policy decisions in the past have made aged care facility visits increasingly less appealing for GPs, resulting in fewer and fewer visits. These issues must be addressed if we are to maintain one of the best health systems in the world.

Member input is an important part of AMA Victoria’s policy development and lobbying activities. We have a forthcoming aged care forum which I hope many of you can attend. To strengthen AMA Victoria’s War on Red tape lobbying efforts, make your voice heard through our blog.

Another major concern for AMA Victoria is the fragmentation of patient care, and patient confidentiality.

General medical practice must be defended and supported as the cornerstone of patient care. The role of GPs as the directors of patient care is under major threat from many areas. These days every other health provider wants to be a “doctor". Those who wish to assume that role denigrate and criticise us whenever possible.

Yet when the chips are down, the patient ends up on our doorstep with a sign around their neck “Please fix me!"

We must encourage governments to support our GPs in our role of directors of patient care with improved infrastructure and system design.

In future, we must ensure that there are enough clinical places for junior doctors to finish their training. We must encourage quality education and ensure clinical training provides the necessary knowledge to equip our medical students to be the best doctors, teachers and medical researchers in the world.

Some doctors, GPs, and other specialists ask me “what does the AMA do for me?" My answer is, we protect and represent you in more ways than you can imagine, every day of the year. We provide advice and opinion without fear or favour to all institutions, government or otherwise.

Our opinion is listened to and valued despite our sometimes being at logger heads with government.

Because you pay your dues we can continue to advocate on your behalf and on behalf of our patients. Your money is well spent, it’s not wasted; every cent is accounted for.

Many doctors volunteer their time to AMA Victoria by contributing valued, considered opinion, advice and representation. I want to acknowledge all of you for that contribution.

Finally, some of my colleagues have asked: “How would you like your presidency to be seen?"

I would like to unite Victorian doctors under a common purpose: to be leaders in innovative improvement in our health system, delivering better services to our less privileged patients, and being doctors whom the community can trust and respect.

Dr Harry Hemley