Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with AMA Australian Medical Association NT President Dr Robert Parker

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

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: If you want to know what's happening on the local
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: political landscape, Kaye Wolf has it covered on three sixty.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Every One is Listening Mixed one oh four point nine.
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  Speaker 1: Royal dah And Hospital apparently had a code yellow again
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  Speaker 1: last week. Or the statement which has been sent through
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  Speaker 1: to us from Royal dah And Hospital is that or
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  Speaker 1: the Department of Health is that Royal dah And Hospital
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  Speaker 1: experienced a peak in bed demand last week and as
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  Speaker 1: such had to enact capacity management plans. They've said that
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  Speaker 1: patient safety is a priority and the dedicated staff at
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  Speaker 1: RDH work hard to ensure Territorians continue to receive the
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  Speaker 1: best patient centered camp possible in these periods of high demand.
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  Speaker 1: They are urging people who have non emergency health needs
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  Speaker 1: to see their GP as soon as they become sick
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  Speaker 1: to try to avoid becoming acutely unwell. This also helps
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  Speaker 1: them to care for those who most need a hospital
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  Speaker 1: beat now joining us on the line to talk further
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  Speaker 1: about this from the Australian Medical Association. The president here
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  Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory, Doctor Robert Parker.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Doctor.
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  Speaker 3: Parker, morning, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: Can you talk us through last week?
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  Speaker 1: We understand that obviously this was what the department is
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  Speaker 1: calling a peak in demand?
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  Speaker 2: Is that what it is?
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  Speaker 3: Well, basically, yeah, the hospital had too many patients and
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  Speaker 3: not enough beads. Basically yeah. So there's various ways of
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  Speaker 3: describing it, such as kate yellow or peak in demand.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and so doctor Parker, what exactly does it mean?
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  Speaker 1: I guess the obvious thing is there's not enough beds.
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  Speaker 1: But does it just mean there's not enough beds in
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  Speaker 1: emergency or are we talking about there being a situation
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  Speaker 1: where people aren't sort of able to be moved from
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  Speaker 1: the emergency ward into other wards.
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  Speaker 3: Well, that's right, I mean basically beds are full and
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  Speaker 3: the emergency department is I suppose that a fault area
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  Speaker 3: of care until you can actually find bits in other areas.
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  Speaker 2: How often is this type of thing happening?
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  Speaker 3: Well, as the regular media and yourself, it's been a
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  Speaker 3: reasonably regular occurrence for the last couple of years, and
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  Speaker 3: in fact, my letter to Minister Hunt a couple of
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  Speaker 3: years ago, which caused all the kafuffle where we accused
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  Speaker 3: the Indie government's being the worst government in Australia has
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  Speaker 3: subsequently been repaired together relates to again the pressure on
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  Speaker 3: the hospital that really the territory's got major health issues
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  Speaker 3: and has pointed out a letter to Minister n at
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  Speaker 3: the time, we've got double the number of avoidable admissions
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  Speaker 3: compared to the rest of Australia, you know, and so
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  Speaker 3: avoidable admissions are exactly the issues that the Health abovement
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  Speaker 3: are referring to, where people should be getting suff fixed
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  Speaker 3: and primary care rather than escalating to a medical condition
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  Speaker 3: that requires hospital for them.
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  Speaker 2: Doctor Parker.
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  Speaker 1: We know that this obviously has a massive strain on
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  Speaker 1: the staff at the hospital, and doctors and nurses do
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  Speaker 1: a phenomenal job, but just how difficult is it when
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  Speaker 1: you've got a situation where you know you've got people
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  Speaker 1: double bunked in the emergency room for example.
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  Speaker 3: It is very difficult. But again I want to as
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  Speaker 3: you just have, I'd want to pay tribute to the
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  Speaker 3: not just the doctors and mercers, but the ots, the physios,
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  Speaker 3: the cleaners, the cooks. You know, the whole hospital is
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  Speaker 3: working over time to do everything. And I mean we're
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  Speaker 3: dealing with some heroes here right through the health system
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  Speaker 3: who really work above their above their capacity to really
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  Speaker 3: make the system work.
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  Speaker 1: Dr Parker, Let's talk about some of those other wards.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, what's I guess some of us and some
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  Speaker 1: listening this morning will be thinking, why have we still
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  Speaker 1: got a situation where we have a code yellow last
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  Speaker 1: week at Royal Darwin Hospital when we've got a second
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  Speaker 1: hospital now out at Palmerston.
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  Speaker 3: Well, that's the old story, Katie. Is we all know
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  Speaker 3: about whether parmesan is or not is or is not
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  Speaker 3: efficient and the whole process of whether it'soul have been
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  Speaker 3: bled in the first place. Yeah, So, I mean, I
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  Speaker 3: think I'll let the viewers make up their own mind
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  Speaker 3: that the workers make up their own minds.
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  Speaker 1: About that, Doctor Parker, Are there any areas in particular
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  Speaker 1: at the moment where you know where it.
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  Speaker 2: Is quite difficult?
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  Speaker 1: I know that mental health is an area which you're
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  Speaker 1: very passionate about, But are there you know, are there
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  Speaker 1: areas at the moment where where we're seeing a real,
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  Speaker 1: I guess, a real difficulty in terms of beds and
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  Speaker 1: being able to provide the services that people require.
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  Speaker 3: Well, again, I suppose the one of the continuing concerns
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  Speaker 3: for us is the ongoing six surgical vacancies. They're unable
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  Speaker 3: to attract surgeons to work in a regular way. They
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  Speaker 3: can obviously get a locans to cover stuff. But you know,
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  Speaker 3: they've got six vacancies in the surgical area that can
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  Speaker 3: they can't fill at the moment, and that would be
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  Speaker 3: affecting operation lists and potentially flow through a patients. So
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  Speaker 3: obviously the AMA is very concerned about that. I think
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  Speaker 3: the Health Department of concerns and that particularly. I know
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  Speaker 3: it sounds that it's sad, but with the upcoming EBA
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  Speaker 3: later in the year, that's obviously a very significant issue
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  Speaker 3: to be addressed because if we can't unfortunately with the
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  Speaker 3: medical stuff, you often got to pay people to come,
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  Speaker 3: and we haven't got the wages to attract people, they
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  Speaker 3: won't come, which does affect the health system like that.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, And then when you're talking about those six
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  Speaker 1: vacancies and not being able to have people here on
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  Speaker 1: a more regular basis surgeons, Yeah, I would imagine that
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  Speaker 1: it means that the wait times and that type of
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  Speaker 1: thing for Territorians who actually need to see a surgeon
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  Speaker 1: are increased.
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  Speaker 3: That's exactly right, Katie Yep, Well, doctor.
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  Speaker 1: Parker, I know this is you know, it's not a
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  Speaker 1: new issue, but it is one that impacts absolutely everybody,
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  Speaker 1: and you know, certainly you want to make sure we
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  Speaker 1: want to make sure we've got everything we need here
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  Speaker 1: in the territory when it comes to health.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we're too from here. I know that.
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  Speaker 1: You know, like you said, you wrote to the to
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  Speaker 1: the federal health minister a couple of years back, and it.
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  Speaker 2: Did cause a bit of a stir. But you know,
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  Speaker 2: how do.
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  Speaker 1: We sort of try to mend this or try to
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  Speaker 1: make sure that we've got the staff that we need
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  Speaker 1: and got the facilities that.
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  Speaker 3: We need, O Katie, I mean, I've Minister Hunt, to
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  Speaker 3: his credit, we recently wrote to mister about the issue
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  Speaker 3: with mental health and the Stunt to his credit, has
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  Speaker 3: been working with Minister Files in terms of development of services.
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  Speaker 3: So we're reasonably happy with the way that's progressed. All obviously,
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  Speaker 3: you know we could do with more service in that area.
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  Speaker 3: I mean, I did write the Minister Hunt and Treasure
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  Speaker 3: of fraud and there before the last year, before the
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  Speaker 3: federal state health funding agreements were done exactly to try
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  Speaker 3: and get more money for the territory. Minister Files has
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  Speaker 3: told me she's reasonably happy with that funding agreement as is,
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  Speaker 3: but obviously the issue is again related you just can't
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  Speaker 3: establish a bed in a hospital. He can put a
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  Speaker 3: bed in an award, but obviously the issue is ongoing
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  Speaker 3: staffing and that's much more expensive in our current way
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  Speaker 3: than just putting a bed an award. And those staffing
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  Speaker 3: ratios and being able to employ staff to service the beds.
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  Speaker 3: That a significant health increase, and unfortunately there are peaks
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  Speaker 3: and troughs, so that the health service has a responsibility
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  Speaker 3: of the patients, they've also got a responsibility of the
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  Speaker 3: taxpayer to make sure the health work sufficiently and not
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  Speaker 3: spending too much money. So it's always find balance between
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  Speaker 3: having enough beds to cover but also spending money in
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  Speaker 3: a responsible way.
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  Speaker 1: I know, when we caught up with the nursing and
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  Speaker 1: mid we're for re union kath Hatcher last week she
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  Speaker 1: had raised some concerns about some of those ratios, but
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  Speaker 1: also some of the double shifts and things that nurses
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  Speaker 1: are working at the moment. How is it for our
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  Speaker 1: doctors and surgeons, Well, I.
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  Speaker 3: Say, I think the surgeons are pretty angry at the
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  Speaker 3: moment with the inability to get those six positions filled.
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  Speaker 3: So I know we're dealing with some surgeons are not happy.
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  Speaker 3: I don't know about the rest of the medical staff.
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  Speaker 3: I gather I'm not hearing a lot of gossip from
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  Speaker 3: the other staff, but I gather people are, you know,
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  Speaker 3: are stressed, but again being the heroes that they are,
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  Speaker 3: they're actually covering the way they need to do to
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  Speaker 3: make you territory.
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  Speaker 2: And say, yeah, that's the thing that I was, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I was.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know whether it's so pleased or unsurprised to
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  Speaker 1: hear when we spoke to Cath Hatcher, is that you're
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  Speaker 1: exactly right. People are doing those double shifts and that
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  Speaker 1: is the thing about everybody that works at the hospital.
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  Speaker 1: They do a bloody marvelous job and often under difficult circumstances.
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  Speaker 3: Yep, agree, totally, Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Good on your doctor Parker. Always good to talk to
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  Speaker 1: you and I always appreciate your time. I know you're
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  Speaker 1: a very busy person.
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  Speaker 3: My pleasure.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: That's doctor Robert Parker there, who is of course the
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  Speaker 1: president of the AMA, the Australian Medical Association here in
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory.