Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to speak today on the significant reduction of the after-hours medical services at the Dianella health centre in Broadmeadows in my electorate of Calwell. I also want to present to the chamber a petition, with 1,406 signatures, regarding this issue. These after-hours GP services were reduced as a result of the federal government’s refusal to fund Dianella Community Health Service’s application.

Today in the House the Minister for Health and Ageing quite proudly boasted that under his watch bulk-billing in this country has increased significantly across electorates. That may be the case, but my question to the minister is: if that is the case, why has he on this occasion not seen it purposeful and necessary to fund an after-hours bulk-billing GP service in my electorate of Calwell? The Dianella Community Health Service has provided an excellent seven day per week service for the last 30 years. The service has very skilled and dedicated doctors who have built up important and trusted relationships with local patients.

Due to the changes in federal government policies, together with the shortage of doctors, there needs to be an increase in funding to maintain this service, which has, incidentally, been in trouble for some years. We are not talking about a large sum of money; we are talking about only $150,000 a year, which is a drop in the ocean. Yet, despite the fact that the after-hours GP service is very much the responsibility of the federal government, they have refused on this occasion to fund this service in order to allow it to continue.

This rejection of funding means that the Dianella service, which is an excellent after-hours service, will be significantly reduced and no other viable funding option exists in order to support existing services. This means that there will be no more evening or Sunday and public holiday services for the people in my electorate and Saturday services will be reduced to a mere three hours. This significant reduction in our after-hours GP services is going to have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of my community. Dianella services a particularly underserviced and underprivileged region. Half of our patients are Commonwealth health care card holders and dependent upon local bulk-billing services to access affordable care. No other GP clinic in the region offers similar after-hours bulk-billing services. Forty-nine per cent of Dianella’s patients have said that, if the after-hours service did not run, their only option would be to attend hospital emergency departments, casualty wards, putting, as you can imagine, Mr Deputy Speaker, an incredible amount of pressure on the already overstretched public hospitals.

In short, locals will lose access to the only affordable and accessible after-hours clinic in the area. Community opposition to the move to reduce the service has been tremendous. The Defend Dianella group, led by committed local activists and volunteers, has rallied significant public support as awareness of this issue expands. To date, I have received over 700 individual letters and 1,406 signatures on the petition on this issue. There have been too many cuts to our health care already. I now present the petition to the House.

The petition read as follows—

This petition of certain citizens of Australia draws to the attention of the House the significant reduction of the after hours medical service at the Dianella Community Health Centre in Broadmeadows due to the rejection of funding for this service by the Federal Government.

We are concerned that the loss of this excellent, affordable and accessible 7 day per week service, which has operated successfully for the past 30 years, will disadvantage many patients, as over 250 patients use the after hours service each week, fifty-one percent of which are health care card holders, unable to afford other GPs.

We are further concerned that this reduction in service will increase pressure on the already overstretched public hospitals as this is the only affordable and accessible after hours clinic in the area and 49% of patients seen by the clinic after hours would have attended a hospital Emergency Department if the after hours service did not run.

Your petitioners therefore ask the house to take immediate steps to provide funding to the Dianella Community Health Centre in Broadmeadows, to allow their after hours service to continue and expand.

from 1406 citizens

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