Leading into Budget week in Canberra this week, was a journey in planning, months in advance by member based groups, to advocate for new policy and funding changes in the Australian Health System.
Some paths are taken because of new crises to be addressed in the workforce, others in considering new models of care to treat patients, or simply to get new medications onto the PBS.
Australian Health Journal met with a number of industry heads after the budget on their journeys so far in lobbying for change, their achievements, some of the disappointments and their thoughts on the road ahead, with an election round the corner.
Skip ahead:
00:35 Tegan Carrison, Executive Director Australian Association of Psychologists Inc (AAPi)
03:12 John Bruning, CEO Australasian College of Paramedicine (ACP)
09:09 Paul Sadler, CEO Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA)
12:06 Karen Booth, President Australian Primary Health Care Association (APNA)
19:45 Jo Armstrong, CEO Cystic Fibrosis Australia
23:25 Elizabeth de Somer, CEO Medicines Australia
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FULL FEATURE Consumers and communities as agents of health care change and improvement
Policymakers, health administrators and clinicians must learn and embrace new ways to harness the transformative role consumers, community members and carers can play. Conversely, consumers and communities need support, capability and capacity to engage as equals in policy, research, program and service design. This is necessary if are to be less technocratic and realise the vision where all members of society can live the best life possible.
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Analogy of the system, rather than the ED front door
“The problem of blockages shows up in ambulance ramping and long wait times, but this is a complex issue requiring whole-of-health system solutions,” according to Professor Hugh Grantham, Chair of Emergency Medicine Foundation in an interview with Australian Health Journal.
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HIGHLIGHTS The power of social determinants of health, panel discussion
Clinicians and consumers know only too well that life circumstances such as poor housing, income and food insecurity can have a negative impact on health outcomes. Conversely, participation in community activities, social connection and access to nature parks and leisure facilities can help maintain health and wellbeing.
More recent phenomena in public health have also focused us on the health and social care connection. Stress factors such as the sudden loss of employment and social interaction, moving to remote work or schooling, and the impacts of sudden, localised COVID-19 ‘lockdowns’ to prevent further outbreaks were triggers of increased psychological distress.
And loneliness is being described as our latest epidemic with chronic loneliness inked to a myriad of health problems and earlier death. A recent report found one in four Australians say they feel persistently lonely, and that loneliness costs $2.7 bn a year in health costs alone.
