Nicola Roxon (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1) The Australian Government currently supports the provision of after hours primary care services through:

In the 2010-11 Budget the Australian Government announced reforms to after hours primary care under the 'Establishing Medicare Locals and Improving Access to After Hours Care' measure. This will involve:

* Expenditure for the PIP After Hours Incentive is demand driven, at approximately $58 million per year.

(2) (a) PIP After Hours Incentives will cease on 1 July 2013.

(b) The GPAH Program will cease on 1 July 2012. No new grants will be offered under the program from this date.

(c) The after hours telephone-based GP advice service will be operational from 1 July 2011.

(d) From 1 July 2013 Medicare Locals will be provided with funding to support the provision of comprehensive face-to-face after hours primary care services at the local level.

As announced as part of the Council of Australian Governments' (COAG) Heads of Agreement on National Health Reform, the establishment of Medicare Locals and their role in planning and supporting after hours care provision in their region has been brought forward. Medicare Locals will now be established in three tranches with the first tranche to be operational from 1 July 2011, the second tranche by 1 January 2012 and the remainder by 1 July 2012. As they are established, Medicare Locals will be funded to review the after hour primary care need of their region and to develop and implement a plan to address gaps in after hours care.

(3) The most recent advice from GP Super Clinic operators for the ten currently opened GP Super Clinics is as follows.

An additional 28 GP Super Clinics were announced as part of the 2010-11 Budget and will offer an extensive array of primary care services in a single location, with integrated services delivered by teams of health professionals.

All of these 28 GP Super Clinics, including hub and spoke model clinics, will offer hours of opening that extend beyond 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-12 noon Saturdays. Further after hours services provided by the GP Super Clinics will be determined depending on the local needs and priorities of the community, taking into account the availability of existing after hours GP services.

(4), (5), (6)

Home Visit Services Provided by General Practitioners

Home Visit Services Provided by Medical Deputising Services (MDS)

Current MBS item billing does not differentiate between after hours home visit services provided by standard GPs and those working for MDS. As such an accurate estimate of the number of MDS services provided, including in aged care facilities, in 2009-10 and until 2012-13 cannot be provided.

The National Association for Medical Deputising (NAMDS) estimates that MDS provided approximately 600,000 after hours home visits in 2009-10. This figure has not been validated by the Department.

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