2008 AMA National Conference
Hotel Grand Chancellor
30 May 2008
Two and a half thousand years ago, some of the best minds of the ancient world gathered around Hippocrates to discuss and debate the emerging concept of medical care.
Over two millennia later, you have gathered in Hobart to continue that tradition.
What the Ancient Greeks knew is that one of the best ways to advance knowledge is simply to share it with others.
The AMA has been at the forefront of that sharing in Australia for many years, and your collective voice continues to resonate both with governments and with the wider community.
I am very pleased that in my first week as Premier of Tasmania, I have the opportunity to address Australia’s peak body of medical professionals, because the medical profession is such an important part of building the Tasmania that I want to see.
I have said at the outset of my time as Premier that I want Tasmania to be a clever, kind and connected society.
As a modern society, we cannot claim to be kind or connected without having in place a health system that can reach out and help people in their time of need.
As medical professionals, all of you are confronted every day with the sight of people at their lowest ebb, fighting illness and relying on your skills and knowledge to pull them through and re-assure them about the future.
A kind society is one that works together to support people in those moments.
And the health system is the mechanism by which we provide that support.
And in reality, the system is built on the individual effort of thousands of people:
• The GPs who put in long hours of care.
• The surgeons who come in and scrub up at any hour of day or night to perform emergency operations.
• The nurses, whose care and direct contact provides the human face to a series of events that are often bewildering to patients.
• The hospital administrators who are balancing budgets to promote the smooth operation of the system.
These people, working together, make our health system function.
As Premier, I see the role of Government as being to help all those people do their jobs to the best of their ability.
We need to provide and allocate resources in a way that makes things run smoothly and sustainably.
That is why in Tasmania, under the leadership of Deputy Premier and Minister for Health and Human Services, Lara Giddings, we have undergone a thorough consultation process to create Tasmania’s Health Plan.
That plan, which includes within it the Clinical Services Plan, puts intellectual grunt behind some of the really difficult questions about service delivery.
Over the past 12 months, there has been real progress with a number of key projects outlined in the Plan. To list just a few:
- development of a cancer clinical network is underway;
- a comprehensive review of health-related transport services throughout the State is nearing completion; and
- a detailed look at accommodation options for people needing to stay near the major hospitals is well underway;
None of the decisions about resource allocation in health are easy – which is why we have developed our plan in conjunction with the people best placed to advise us – the medical professionals themselves.
For instance, there are sound medical grounds for concentrating high-level clinical resources into three major hospitals in the south, north and north-west of Tasmania.
That is not easy in a State like Tasmania, which has such a decentralised population.
People understandably get scared that they may lose services, or have to travel further to get them.
These considerations are of course not unique to Tasmania.
All States are facing the same realities of rising health costs and working out how to provide the best possible care that they can within the available funding allocations.
There continue to be areas which need more funding, and I’m really pleased that the new Commonwealth Government is working well with the States to provide those funds to where they are needed.
That includes directly for Tasmania $15 million for superclinics around the State, and specific funding for needs including $15 million for an ICC in Launceston, and $7.7 million for an additional radiation oncology service in the north or north-west.
That is in addition to Tasmania’s share of the extra funds made available to help cut waiting lists in our public hospitals.
A key part of Tasmania’s Health Plan is a focus on encouraging and helping people to take control of their own health.
The World Health Organisation wrote a definition of good health into its constitution in 1948, which said that:
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
The inter-relation of good health with a sound mind and positive relationships with others in our lives is undeniable.
That is why, as well as investing in hospitals and health centres, we are investing in social inclusion and preventative health.
Through the newly established Social Inclusion unit in my Department of Premier and Cabinet, we are investigating core issues like homelessness and literacy and numeracy, in recognition that these things affect the mental and social wellbeing of Tasmanians.
Many of these aspects of social policy that Governments invest in are a part of what can broadly be termed preventative health.
An active and connected community is one that helps people before they need to turn to our acute care institutions, like hospitals.
I know these are all issues of which the AMA is aware, and on which you have a public voice.
I wish you all the best for a successful National Conference, and trust that you will take some time to enjoy the sights and sounds of Tasmania while you are here.
The page has been produced by The Department of Premier and Cabinet. Questions concerning its content may be directed by email to webmaster@dpac.tas.gov.au
You are directed to information on how your personal information is protected. You are directed to a disclaimer and copyright notice governing the information provided.