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Katie Woolf spoke with Australian Medical Association NT President Dr Robert Parker · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: Hello, Katie Wold and three point sixty online at Mix
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  Speaker 1: one O four nine dot com.
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  Speaker 2: Earlier in the week, we have discussed the situation at
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  Speaker 2: Royal Darwin Hospital when it comes to a bed shortage
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  Speaker 2: for those mental health patients that do.
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  Speaker 1: Require help out there at the.
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  Speaker 2: Hospital and maybe there's not enough room at this point
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  Speaker 2: in time to be able to get them at different
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  Speaker 2: times I guess into the mental health ward. Now joining
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  Speaker 2: us on the line is the Australian Medical Association President
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  Speaker 2: for the Northern Territory, doctor Robert Parker.
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  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, doctor Parker.
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  Speaker 3: Morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Now, I know that there.
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  Speaker 2: Has been a lot of work really happened in this
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  Speaker 2: space when it comes to mental health and the way
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  Speaker 2: in which we're able to accommodate patients at Royal Darwin Hospital.
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  Speaker 2: From all accounts, it seems as though there has been
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  Speaker 2: a bit of a surge in recent weeks.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I think this has been constant pressure, Katie, I
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  Speaker 3: think for quite a while now, and I mean there's
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  Speaker 3: a range of factors that are impacting on this. Is
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  Speaker 3: my Ledit the Minister Hunt that points out our hospitals
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  Speaker 3: are very busy, two to three times as busy as
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  Speaker 3: the rest of Australia. There's been chronic underfunding of mental
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  Speaker 3: health services by both sides of politics for many years,
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  Speaker 3: and there's also been issues about decisions about nurse training
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  Speaker 3: in the nineteen eighties that have had a significant effect
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  Speaker 3: on our ability to have mental health trade mental health nurses.
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  Speaker 3: But added to that, probably, I mean the other significant
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  Speaker 3: factor is the amount of substance abuse around the community,
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  Speaker 3: and certainly substance abuse seems to be one of the
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  Speaker 3: main precipitating factors for the current surgeon in people presenting
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  Speaker 3: to the hospital.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and doctor Parker, I mean, are we sort of
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  Speaker 2: always in a situation at the hospital where a lot
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  Speaker 2: of the time we are having to accommodate patients in
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  Speaker 2: different areas of the hospital because we don't have enough
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  Speaker 2: space in the mental health board.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I think the minister's pointed that out yesterday. You know,
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  Speaker 3: the ministers agree with that. You know, I'm certainly having
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  Speaker 3: to pay a tribute to that. As the file. She's
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  Speaker 3: currently doing a lot of work to try and remedy
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  Speaker 3: the situation, and I think she's come up. We really
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  Speaker 3: appreciate the support she's giving us and we're developing hopefully
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  Speaker 3: some innovative solutions with her support to hopefully try and
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  Speaker 3: remedy the situation.
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  Speaker 2: What are some of those innovative solutions that we can
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  Speaker 2: hopefully come up with really to try to make sure
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  Speaker 2: that those patients are able to have the support that
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  Speaker 2: they require.
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  Speaker 3: Well, again, we're trying to develop more bid space for
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  Speaker 3: patients to be taken out of the hospital and be
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  Speaker 3: treated in a situation much more appropriate to their needs.
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  Speaker 3: We're trying to develop a specific team within the ED
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  Speaker 3: to assist the ED collisions are often under a lot
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  Speaker 3: of pressure with the current situation, and we're also very
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  Speaker 3: gratified that the federal government's finally recognize the issues about
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  Speaker 3: mental health nursing and is trying to develop appropriate training
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  Speaker 3: for mental health nurses, which I hopefully remedy some of
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  Speaker 3: our significant work positions.
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  Speaker 2: That sounds interesting what you said about maybe having a
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  Speaker 2: team in the actual emergency department to try and assist,
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  Speaker 2: because I would imagine that at different times it is
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  Speaker 2: quite a strain in the emergency ward, you know, when
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  Speaker 2: you talk at all about all of the different types
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  Speaker 2: of cases that come in. But then if you've got
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  Speaker 2: somebody that is specifically trained in mental health to assess
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  Speaker 2: those patients that come through the emergency doors.
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  Speaker 1: You would think that it would make quite a difference.
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  Speaker 3: That's correct, and this has been very supportive in China
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  Speaker 3: developed such a team to help in the situation.
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  Speaker 2: I have got a question from a listener this morning
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  Speaker 2: asking what's the Has the Palmeston Hospital done much to
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  Speaker 2: alleviate this pressure?
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  Speaker 3: Unfortunately not metal health issues in the territory have to
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  Speaker 3: be conducted within gazetted facilities, and the only gazetted facilities
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  Speaker 3: in the territory are Roaldeo and then Alice Springs Hospital.
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  Speaker 3: Palmerston is currently not a gazetted hospital, so it's very
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  Speaker 3: difficult to actually manage people with significant mental health issues
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  Speaker 3: at Palmerston and they have to be transferred to all Dale.
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  Speaker 2: Last week earlier this week when we were told that
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  Speaker 2: at one point last week there was up to seventeen
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  Speaker 2: patients who couldn't be accommodated in the mental health board.
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  Speaker 1: Dr Parker, I mean like, is that, I know you.
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  Speaker 2: Can't go into real specifics with numbers, but is that
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  Speaker 2: a normal thing to have happened where we do have
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  Speaker 2: to have patients in other areas of the hospital.
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  Speaker 3: Well, there's constant pressure. Seventeen There is a large number.
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  Speaker 3: We've had constant pressure in that area for quite a
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  Speaker 3: while now, but seventeen is a pretty unusual number to have.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Just on another situation that I am keen to
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  Speaker 2: ask you about, and that is the testing out there
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  Speaker 2: at Howard Springs. Are you We just caught up with
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  Speaker 2: Cath Hatcher from the Nursing and Midwiffree Union. She has
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  Speaker 2: said that as of Friday, the staff out there are
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  Speaker 2: going to have the option now with testing.
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  Speaker 1: They will make sure.
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  Speaker 2: That they've got those the rapid nasal swabs so that
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  Speaker 2: if people want to go down that path they're able
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  Speaker 2: to do. You reckon that that's going to say the
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  Speaker 2: minds at ease of some of those staff.
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  Speaker 1: Out there, well, hopefully.
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  Speaker 3: Obviously rapid testing is really important, particularly with staff caring
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  Speaker 3: for people potentially with their COVID issue. So I'm very
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  Speaker 3: happy that area's being developed. Yeah, that's good.
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  Speaker 1: Hey.
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  Speaker 2: One other thing I was keen to quickly ask about
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  Speaker 2: as well is the expansion of the COVID vaccine eligibility.
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  Speaker 1: Good move, excellent move.
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  Speaker 3: No, I think it was actually pointed out. You know
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  Speaker 3: a lot of our guys live in families at large
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  Speaker 3: family groups, and if we can get the whole family group,
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  Speaker 3: you know, the set of the individuals immunized, that office
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  Speaker 3: is a much better protection. So I'm very happy with
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  Speaker 3: what the government's done on expanding the number of people
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  Speaker 3: that can be munized.
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  Speaker 2: Doctor Parker, just very briefly back on that mental health issue.
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  Speaker 2: I know that that tender has now been released as
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  Speaker 2: well for the Royal Darwin Hospital, the design of the
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  Speaker 2: new mental health facilities, designing a new eighteen bed mental
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  Speaker 2: health facility, a new stabilization and referral area and relocation
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  Speaker 2: of offices displaced by the work.
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  Speaker 1: I'm assuming that this can't happen soon enough.
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  Speaker 3: Unfortunately, it all has to take process and there are
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  Speaker 3: particularly department processes, buildings, certification processes that all need to
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  Speaker 3: be developed to allow this to develop. So unfortunately does
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  Speaker 3: take time, and again it's all to do with safety
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  Speaker 3: to make sure people are safe. But construction insues in
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  Speaker 3: the safe way and that we end up with the
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  Speaker 3: best possible facility for looking after people with series mental
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  Speaker 3: health issues.
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  Speaker 2: Well, doctor Robert Parker, the head of the AMA here
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  Speaker 2: in the Northern Territory, we always appreciate your time.
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  Speaker 1: We know you're very busy. Thanks so much for chatting
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  Speaker 1: this morning.
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  Speaker 3: Good to talk to you, Gatty.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you