twrama 1990_final oc.. - AMA WA

AMA IN THE MEDIA
WHY HAY FEVER IS GRIPPING WA
Bassendean GP Steve Wilson, chairman
of the AMA’s Council of General Practice,
advised people to see their local doctor
because new treatments were available. “I
do get upset when I see people wasting their
money because they keep buying packets
of certain antihistamines and they don’t get
any better,” Dr Wilson said. “They need to
see a good GP because there are lots of new
treatments that people don’t know about.”
The Sunday Times, October 14, 2012
AMA CONCERNED ABOUT
CORONIAL INQUEST
The AMA says the results of a coronial
inquest into the death of a South-West
woman highlight the need for improved
health facilities. Professor Paul Skerritt says
better services are needed for people after
their discharge.
ABC Radio, September 7, 2012
DOCTORS DEMAND
CHAPERONES
Worried doctors want the Health
Department to provide chaperones for
patient examinations where needed,
particularly in hospital emergency
departments.
Australian Medical Association emergency
doctor Dave Mountain said in other cases
concerns had been raised about doctors
doing intimate examinations that were later
found to be groundless.
“There was a time when a health
professional would have had the benefit of
the doubt but now it seems very easy for
doctors to find themselves in a situation that
is at best unpleasant and at worse could see
them before a judge,” he said.
“The playing field has changed substantially
and made junior doctors in particular
nervous,” he said.
The West Australian, October 10, 2012
457 WORKERS HEALTH FEARS
Australian Medical Association WA
President Richard Choong said it was
essential that the Federal Government
plug an anomaly in regulations that meant
many 457-visa workers were not health
tested. Otherwise, Australia would be open
to “diseases that have not been seen for
decades” and potentially also blood-borne
diseases.
“The health of Australians will be at risk if
action is not taken, given there has already
been approval given for a huge increase in
workers to come to Australian, particularly
to work in the mining industry,” he said.
The Sunday Times, October 7, 2012
DOCTORS FEAR MORE WILL DIE
Doctors fear more patients will die in WA’s
overcrowded hospitals because of a plan to
strip at least $12 million from the public
health system as part of budget cuts.
AMA WA spokesman David Mountain
said: “When a health system is as
overcrowded as ours, when you continue
to inflict damage on that system with more
cuts, that means people’s lives will be lost.”
The Sunday Times, October 14, 2012
WA HOSPITALS OUTPERFORMING
OTHER STATES
The Health Department says latest figures
show WA’s Emergency Departments are
outperforming their interstate counterparts.
The AMA president Dr Richard Choong,
says while WA’s Emergency Departments
have performed well, the Government needs
to work to ensure the standards stay high.
“We have to realise that although we are
very high on the stats, we can’t rest on our
laurels and though we have the capacity
to see the patients – that capacity needs to
grow,” Dr Choong said.
ABC Online, September 28, 2012
ACTION URGED ON FOETAL
BOOZE WOES
Obstetrician Michael Gannon said while
the National Health and Medical Research
Council stated there was no safe dose of
alcohol during pregnancy, the warnings
about alcohol use were aimed more at
women who consistently consumed high
amounts of alcohol rather than those who
enjoyed the “occasional social drink”.
The West Australian, September 21, 2012
FACEBOOK GAG FEAR HITS
DOCTORS
Health professionals including doctors and
nurses could face new rules when using
social media such as Facebook and Twitter.
AMA (WA) President Richard Choong
said (the new rule) was a waste of time and
resources. “Our lives are already bound
by our professional codes for conduct and
on the whole doctors and other health
professionals use social media appropriately,
so I don’t know how this policy would add
anything,” Dr Choong said.
The West Australian, September 19, 2012
Medicus
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October MEDICUS 53