What the Government won’t tell you about health:
PUBLIC HEALTH IN DEMAND
Bulk billed GP consultations remain low (68.3% in March 04), despite the MedicarePlus
package and $21 million spent on advertising.
Public Hospitals are in debt and waiting lists have not improved, driving people
to costly private hospitals. The private health insurance rebate is now $2.5 billion
a year and growing and premiums have risen well in excess of CPI.
Australia has 3,000 overseas trained doctors but there is still a severe shortage
- neither are there enough medical specialists such as, nurses, dentists, dieticians
or physiotherapists. There are still not enough places at universities to train
young people to fill these medical workforce shortages.
MENTAL HEALTH STRESSED
Only the most severely affected patients are able to be treated in mental health
clinics and many more are turned away.
Record numbers of children take prescription drugs despite little research into
their long term impact. Medication often takes the place of services to help solve
learning, psychological and social problems.
Overall spending on mental health remains half that of other first world countries.
DENTAL SERVICES PATCHY
Waiting times for public dental services in many states are up to 4½ years and
even serious cases can wait over 6 months.
Only some states provide school dental programs.
INDIGENOUS HEALTH A DISGRACE
Babies of Indigenous mothers are twice as likely to die at birth and during the
early post-natal phase than babies born to other Australian mothers.
Life expectancy for Indigenous people is 20 years less than the rest of the Australian
population.
Indigenous health services are seriously under-funded despite demonstrably poor
Indigenous health.
PREVENTATIVE HEALTH IGNORED
Smoking related diseases cost 19,000 lives every year yet the Federal Government
spends only $2m on anti smoking programs but collects $5b in tobacco excise.
There is no government support for complementary health or nutritional supplements,
despite their effectiveness.
30% of Australian births are now by caesarean section (twice the rate said to
be necessary) which can have long term health implications for these mothers.
Women are not able to opt for more preventive one-to-one midwifery under Medicare
and in many country areas, access to maternity services has been reduced.
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