Labor ThinkTank on Health Reform

Health Reform

by LaborHQ at Tuesday, 13 July 2010

Our health and hospitals system is an essential service that millions of Australians rely on. As the population ages and more people live with chronic diseases, the demand for health services has continued to rapidly increase.


At the same time, medical care is becoming more expensive as technology and medicines become more sophisticated and specialised. A key pressure point in our health and hospitals system is public hospital emergency departments.


For more than half a decade now, one in three people attending emergency departments have been waiting longer than recommended times for treatment. This pressure and constant strain on resources is also felt in the everyday working lives of health professionals.


See what measures the Federal Government is taking to address the issue.


What else do you think the federal government, state government or hospitals can do to address the issue?


What do you think Government should do to ensure we can continue to deliver high quality care for the ever increasing number of Australians who turn to our public hospitals every day?


In particular, what can Government do to reduce waiting times in emergency departments?

Categories: Doctors, Emergency, Health, Hospitals, Nurses
Status: Active
Ideas: 176

Ideas

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  • After Hours GP Clinics at hospitals

    by Nyzaaaah from Darwin , NT at Thursday, 15 July 2010

    Often, emergency departments are full of people who have minor ailments or injuries and have nowhere else to go. They wait in emergency for hours because of a stomach bug or a broken wrist or an ear infection.

    If an after hours clinic could be established on the hospital campus (and in larger cities and towns not so close to the hospital), people looking for regular medical help could get it without clogging the emergency department. Anyone wh...

    Comments: 31 | Report abuse

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  • Better Public Dental care

    by Obutters from Sydney , NSW at Thursday, 15 July 2010

    Tooth decay amongst children has been getting worse and thousands of men and women across the country are on waiting lists to treat painful dental problems.

    So why doesn't Labor do what the UK Labour party did many years ago and ensure standard and subsidised charges for dental care under a public system. Under the NHS, Dental care is subsidised by the state and standard charges apply - for instance a standard examination is 16 pounds, a fill...

    Comments: 29 | Report abuse

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  • Nurse cadets

    by gragen from Redfern , NSW at Thursday, 15 July 2010


    We should create a national cadet nurse program to encourage more young people to join the public health workforce on top of the record investment already being undertaken by the Labor Govt.

    This would create a long term stream of dedicated health professionals by starting to target high school students in year 9 and 10, giving them an early insight into the challenges and rewards of working in our public hospitals.

    By exposing them at an...

    Comments: 20 | Report abuse

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  • Mental Health Services in Regional Areas

    by Jamesey from Enmore , NSW at Thursday, 15 July 2010

    We should pay more attention to mental health services in regional areas. It's something that only those affected by really tend to consider, and the mentally disabled are rarely if ever brought to front and centre in an election campaign.

    Regional areas are particularly underserviced - we need more dedicated and trained nurses and doctors who are able to better service the needs of this marginalised group.

    Comments: 24 | Report abuse

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  • Put Tafe courses under Hecs scheme.

    by mfwylde from Glencoe , Qld at Friday, 16 July 2010

    Courses such as cert 111 and cert 1V in disability, aged care etc as this would encourage people into these areas to gain quality recognised skills.

    Comments: 4 | Report abuse

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  • Have a big look at the little things

    by JoshuaGenner from Sydney , NSW at Thursday, 15 July 2010

    We have to make it easier for good people to do good things.

    In Sweden more than 8 in 10 people are organ donations.

    15km away in Denmark organ donation is less than 1 in 10.

    The difference between these two neighbours is in Sweden you opt out of donation, in Denmark you opt it.

    You might remember filling your form out and know Australia has an opt out system. What you might not know is that Australia has one of the lowest organ donor...

    Comments: 7 | Report abuse

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  • Doctors Nurses & Health Professionals

    by Shultz from Lindisfarne , Tas at Thursday, 15 July 2010

    Why not use something like the old Teacher's scholarship system.

    If you want to be a health professional, you may have your tuition fees paid, getting a reasonable living allowance for full-time study
    (so that you are not working numerous part-time jobs just to survive, with the likely result beingfatigue &course failure),
    & there is a payback to the community.

    You are bonded to the government (C'wealth),
    & able to be sent...

    Comments: 5 | Report abuse

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  • Public vs Private - support for a public system is paramount - this means healthcare for all regardless of income level

    by benedictgahan from Canberra , ACT at Friday, 16 July 2010

    This solutions proposes:

    - Affirmative action that stops often inefficient private solutions undermining the support for more efficient public systems to guarantee public spending
    - an equality base public healthcare system that covers everyone regardless of income level
    - Is aimed at the middle class, and services that they need, so as the public system is not undermined by private solutions - and therefore is often subject to decreased fu...

    Comments: 8 | Report abuse

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  • Recurrent funding for employing health professionals

    by vanaalst from Fraser , ACT at Monday, 19 July 2010

    One of the biggest impediments to improving the Health Care system is the resistance of governments to support recurrent funding proposals. The norm nowadays appears to be specific project or intiative funding that defines a set amount of financial investment over a limited time. The most relevant projects that this kind of funding supports are short-term, often infrastructure projects. If not infrastructure, then they are often designated as 'pi...

    Comments: 2 | Report abuse

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  • Get feedback from the patients and the doctors if you want to run hospitals successfully

    by AlterQuest from Mermaid Waters , QLD at Sunday, 18 July 2010

    Ask for constructive comments from the staff and the patients if you want to run the hospitals successfully.
    The head of department in our local hospital is so over-run with paperwork with no expenditure for a clerk, that he has to waste valuable treatment time doing it. Otherwise he has to work overtime (probably unpaid) in order to keep up. We offered to help him but he said the hospital would not accept this.
    Its dedicated doctors like this...

    Comments: 1 | Report abuse

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