Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Health and Ageing. How will the government’s health reforms improve the delivery of primary healthcare services to Australians?

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

I thank the member for Kingston for her question because I know she, as a trained and qualified psychologist, knows the importance of primary care to the community and is a strong supporter of the government’s plans for a GP superclinic in her electorate and a new headspace site in her electorate. She, along with many others on this side of the House, knows that, if we care for people better in the community, we can reduce our rate of hospitalisations—which, unfortunately, in Australia are much higher than the OECD average. It is estimated that some nine per cent of hospitalisations are potentially preventable.

Obviously that is why the Prime Minister and I are focusing on moving more emphasis onto primary care and, as the House knows, released yesterday guidelines for the Medicare locals that will increase and improve coordination for primary healthcare service providers. I must say that we have been pleased with the reaction that we have had to this announcement, including from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. The president, John Kolbe, said yesterday:

If fully utilised, Medicare Locals can vastly improve how health care is planned and delivered, directly impacting patient outcomes by ensuring increased access to treatment in more appropriate settings.

That is absolutely what we are trying to do.

At the same time as trying to coordinate primary care better, we are also investing in building new infrastructure across the country. So I am pleased to be able to inform the House that on Friday the member for Page is going to be turning the first sod for a GP superclinic to be constructed in Grafton. There will be five full-time GPs in this clinic, together with practice nurses and allied health professionals, pathology collection and pharmacy services.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Reba?

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

So as of this Friday, when the sod is turned by the member for Page, there will be 30 GP superclinics that are open and fully operational—there are nine of those—providing early services or under construction, and that is with almost two years of our five-year program actually still to run.

Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You love the ‘Reba’ reference, don’t you?

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

So all these clinics have been established with consultation in the community on what services are needed. I know that the member for Dickson is getting agitated, as he always does when we talk about superclinics.

Harry Jenkins (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The minister should not encourage him.

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

I would like to give him an update about the superclinic in his electorate, which he, as yet, has failed to visit. The Strathpine GP Super Clinic has provided 92,000 items of care to patients through 71,000 consultations. Services are provided after hours; the clinic employs 15 GPs, nine nurses, a physiotherapist, a podiatrist and a pathologist and provides chiropractic care and mental health services; and all GP consultations are bulk-billed. I am also happy to inform the House that the Strathpine clinic has now employed its first nurse practitioner. They are benefiting from the government’s reforms to the MBS. In particular, this nurse practitioner is going to be working closely with three local nursing homes who have not been able to get services from other practices. So this is good news for the community, and it is about time the member for Dickson gave them a visit.