Gordon Reid (Robertson, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

r REID () (): I firstly would like to take a moment to put on the record the work that our chair in particular, Dr Mike Freelander, the member for Macarthur, undertook with our deputy chair, Melissa McIntosh, the member for Lindsay, and all the committee members, some of whom are in the chamber today. You, Deputy Chair Ananda-Rajah, and the member for Werriwa are here. Thank you for all of your hard work.

This is an extremely important topic that affects our health system but also has wide-ranging effects throughout multiple areas in our economy with regards to productivity. We know that long COVID is the persistence of symptoms post that acute illness. When those symptoms are persisting, as we heard from many of the people and peak bodies that provided evidence, it can have impacts not only on the individual's health and productivity but also on the family, the economy and the workforce more broadly. We heard that consistently throughout our long COVID inquiry.

I want to take a moment to talk about some of the frontline workers who were instrumental in caring for patients during the acute phase of the pandemic and who continue to provide care to patients who have now gone beyond that acute illness, in particular members of our hospitals, but really all members of the primary care space.

I can think of a few general practitioners on the Central Coast who play quite significant roles in our community in treating patients with persistent symptoms after acute illness, in particular those associated with long COVID. I make special mention of Dr Jon Fogarty. I congratulate him on his retirement but also thank him for his service to our community through the health system. I'll also mention Dr Ian Charlton, from Kincumber Doctors; Dr Colette Hourigan, a great local GP and women's health advocate; and Dr Stephen Kenny from East Gosford Medical. Two GPs who are key members of the peninsula now are Drs Raymond Fam and Mario Fam from Providence Medical. They are amazing medical practitioners, amazing general practitioners, who continue to provide care for our most vulnerable, in particular those suffering from persistent symptoms after COVID-19 infection.

I'll move on to some of the other professionals who assisted us during the acute phase and the years that followed, particularly those professionals at the Wyong and Gosford hospitals. I'm talking not just about the doctors there but about the nurses, the allied health professionals—the physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech pathologists—and the ancillary staff, who often don't get a mention and receive the recognition that they should; in particular, ESOs, environmental support officers, and the like. All the work they do is absolutely instrumental in our fight against COVID and long COVID. I also don't want to forget to mention Woy Woy Hospital, a little subacute hospital down on the peninsula—I've spent some time there—for all its work not only during the pandemic but also in providing care for patients at the moment.

I'll also give a big shout-out to the union movement, who really supported their members and all members of the health profession during that time and continue to provide support. I'll make special mention of ASMOF, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation; the HSU, the Health Services Union; and the Nurses and Midwives Association. They're just three, but there were multiple unions that really stepped up in the health space during that time.

I do want to mention some of the words that the chair, the member for Macarthur, used in the foreword to this report. They were about how, with the COVID-19 pandemic, we really hadn't seen a pandemic like it since the Spanish flu at the conclusion of the First World War. He noted that despite warnings that there was going to be another pandemic, it did take some experts by surprise, particularly the extent and gravity of it. I'm not going to say we were lucky, but we were fortunate that in Australia we have a health system that is resilient and well resourced, and for the most part we were able to deal with the significant challenges we had with regard to COVID-19. That was in particular because of the researchers, the scientists, the health experts, the GPs—all those people that I mentioned earlier—but also, too, because of the frontline workers, whether they were in our shops stacking shelves or elsewhere. Wherever it might have been, it was the resilience of the Australian people during that time that really moved us forward.

With regard to ongoing care of people with COVID-19 and the persistent symptoms that we see in long COVID, part of it is really about making sure that our primary care, including general practice, is well supported. I think it's fantastic that in our budget, which was handed down by Jim Chalmers, the member for Rankin, recently, we are investing significantly in primary care through tripling the bulk-billing incentive, making it cheaper and easier for Australians, whether they be in my electorate of Robertson on the Central Coast, in Victoria—you name it—to see a doctor. We know that GPs are at the centre of multidisciplinary care, and we've heard on countless occasions that patients with long COVID benefit from multidisciplinary care, particularly when we have GPs at the centre of it.

I commend not just the Treasurer and the Minister for Finance but also Mark Butler for really making sure that this bulk-billing incentive got up and was part of our most recent Albanese Labor budget.

In conclusion, although there are members of this committee who are in this room, I do want to thank the hundreds of people that made submissions to the long COVID inquiry, in particular to the individuals who were suffering quite significant symptoms. Whether they zoomed into the committee meeting, whether they came here in person or whether we came to them in some of the major cities and hospitals that we visited, the bravery they showed telling us their story about their journey from that acute illness to a chronic infection took courage. I want to thank each and every person who made a submission, which led to the recommendations from our long COVID inquiry and the report that followed.

Also, I make mention of the inquiry secretariat. As you know, Deputy Chair, there were hundreds of submissions that we went through, but the bulk of the hard work was done but our secretariat. They are always professional in their conduct and in the work that they undertake, whether that's in this House or whether that's on the road or via Zoom. I want to particularly mention Clare Anderson, Kate Portus, Kate Morris, Cassie Davis and Cathy Rouland, the members of the secretariat for this inquiry. They were amazing in everything that they did towards the recommendations that came out of this long COVID inquiry.

In conclusion, I want to thank the Chair and Deputy Chair of the COVID inquiry, the members for Macarthur and Lindsay, for all the work that they've undertaken. This was such an important inquiry to undertake into long COVID and repeated COVID infections, particularly in the aftermath of the acute phase of the pandemic. I think the title of this inquiry was apt, Sick and tired: Casting a long shadow, because we know that's what long COVID does. I want to commend this report to the House.

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