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

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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: If you want to know what's happening on the local
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  Speaker 1: political landscape, Katie Wolf has it covered on three sixty.
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  Speaker 1: Every one is listening Mixed one oh four point nine.
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  Speaker 1: We learned late last week that there was going to
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  Speaker 1: be these changes to Australia's vaccine roll out. More than
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  Speaker 1: one point six million Australians have received the COVID nineteen
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  Speaker 1: jab but a major setback to the astrosenica vaccine is well,
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  Speaker 1: causing quite a bit of confusion amongst the community. Nationally,
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  Speaker 1: the Australian Medical Association President has called for calm about
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  Speaker 1: the nation's vaccine roll out. Now joining me on the
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  Speaker 1: line is the Northern Territory President of the Australian Medical Association,
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  Speaker 1: doctor Robert Parker. Good morning to you, doctor Parker.
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  Speaker 2: Morning Katy.
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  Speaker 1: How what has the reaction, I guess been, doctor Parker
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  Speaker 1: to the changes announced by the federal government on Friday.
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  Speaker 2: Well, obviously there's I suppose a concern among the public
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  Speaker 2: about the news about the blood cloths and the under
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  Speaker 2: fifty population with the astrosenica vaccine isn't very very small risk,
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  Speaker 2: but still I suppose the whole population, you know, the
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  Speaker 2: whole world has been living with this virus for the
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  Speaker 2: last year. For year is a significant driving factor for people,
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  Speaker 2: and I suppose information like this can just add to
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  Speaker 2: people's anxiety about the whole situation.
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  Speaker 1: What I mean, I suppose what are people saying to
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  Speaker 1: you at this point in time, because I kind of
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  Speaker 1: feel like, even though it is going to be delayed
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  Speaker 1: or it does mean that there's going to be a
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  Speaker 1: delay to the roll out, that most people sort of
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  Speaker 1: want to make sure that you know, whatever vaccine we're
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  Speaker 1: talking about, that it is up to the standard that
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  Speaker 1: they'd hope that it would be before they receive it.
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  Speaker 2: Well, I suppose in the end it's informed conceit. So
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  Speaker 2: the risk of blood cloths is very small. People may
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  Speaker 2: prefer to get vaccinated, and I certainly had my second
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  Speaker 2: five A JAB on Friday, And yeah, people may prefer
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  Speaker 2: to get vaccinated to make sure they've got the protection
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  Speaker 2: and the vaccination certificate. And in the end, it's a
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  Speaker 2: conversation they have with their medical practitional vaccination center about
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  Speaker 2: the risk versus benefit. And certainly it's a very very
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  Speaker 2: small erst of people under fifty versus the surety of
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  Speaker 2: actually having the vaccine on board.
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  Speaker 1: And I reckon you hit the nail on the head.
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  Speaker 1: It does come down to that informed concent to making
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  Speaker 1: sure that you're speaking to your GP or speaking to
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  Speaker 1: medical professionals about your concerns.
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  Speaker 2: That's right, you know, in the end, people should In
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  Speaker 2: the end, a few people have got a right to
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  Speaker 2: make a decision about whether or not think it the
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  Speaker 2: vaccine and be well informed about the risks and benefits
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  Speaker 2: about either having the astrosnemic vaccine or not having it
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  Speaker 2: and waiting for the fires or and the potential time
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  Speaker 2: lag for that. I'm feeling very comfortable at the moment
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  Speaker 2: having my vaccinations certificate, knowing I've had had the vaccine.
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  Speaker 2: It feels good.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, I know nationally, the AMA President had said
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  Speaker 1: to media over the weekend that right now we've got
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  Speaker 1: GPS doctors who've got hospitals, governments scrambling to work out
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  Speaker 1: what it means means for them. This the obviously the
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  Speaker 1: changes to the rollout and how we reset the programs.
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  Speaker 1: Dr Parker, what are healthcare professionals saying to you in
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory are they are they concerned about the
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  Speaker 1: changes or are they all feeling, you know, pretty okay
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  Speaker 1: at this point.
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  Speaker 2: To be honest, Katy, I haven't had a lot of
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  Speaker 2: feedback from anybody about it. I imagine they've got the
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  Speaker 2: same sort of concerns as anyone else had. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: it's obviously with the concerns about the astrosenic vaccine people
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  Speaker 2: in the future, it's obviously get to delay the number
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  Speaker 2: of people who do get it. But having said that,
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  Speaker 2: you know half I was just hearing this morning that
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  Speaker 2: over half the American population and have vaccinated, so you know,
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  Speaker 2: there are significant rollouts and I think a large number
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  Speaker 2: of people have had astrasenticull without the side effects, so
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  Speaker 2: you know, and so it is obviously going to delay
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  Speaker 2: our role out in Australia. We've got to wait for
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  Speaker 2: the Pfizer and potentially some of the other vaccines such
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  Speaker 2: as n ova vacs to be available so we can
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  Speaker 2: make sure the whole populations is vaccinated safely.
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  Speaker 1: And we did just speak to the Chief Minister, Michael Gunner,
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  Speaker 1: and he did obviously speak about some of the concerns
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  Speaker 1: that he's got. Then at this point, given the fact
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  Speaker 1: that the fires A vaccine, as I understand it is
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  Speaker 1: the one that needs to be rolled out at much
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  Speaker 1: lower temperatures or those vaccinations need to be kept at
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  Speaker 1: those very low temperatures. That's going to make things quite
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  Speaker 1: difficult when you talk about the rollout into remote communities,
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  Speaker 1: isn't it.
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  Speaker 2: That's correct, Katie. I mean there's other vaccines potentially available
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  Speaker 2: to navovax and the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, they're a
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  Speaker 2: long time coming. So currently we've got Astrosenica, which doesn't
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  Speaker 2: have the cold chain issues that Fizer has, and I
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  Speaker 2: suppose in the end, it's making sure that people who
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  Speaker 2: can make a choice about whether they get it or not.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, it seems like everyone over fifty it's fairly
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  Speaker 2: safe as far as Astrasentica goes. But I suppose you
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  Speaker 2: people under fifty they need and again with the remote communities,
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  Speaker 2: you need a lot of further information so indigenous communities
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  Speaker 2: can feel they've got appropriate information to make in a
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  Speaker 2: form choice.
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  Speaker 1: Do you know if there's any GPS in the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory who are refusing to give that vaccine to people
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  Speaker 1: under the age of fifty, or any of our GPS
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  Speaker 1: who've got concerns sort of when it comes to liability.
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  Speaker 2: I'm just well, Katie, my understanding isn't. I mean, Minister
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  Speaker 2: Hunt was on TV the other day saying that every
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  Speaker 2: medical practitioner gives the vaccine is indemnified. I've checked with
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  Speaker 2: the AMA this morning and I've been reassured that every
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  Speaker 2: medical practitioner gives the vaccine, or any practitioner gives the vaccine,
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  Speaker 2: whether the medical nursing or whatever, is indemnified. The indemnity
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  Speaker 2: does cover, you know, to good effect, everyone giving the
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  Speaker 2: vaccine to good effect.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I guess that means that our medical professionals can
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  Speaker 1: sort of have their minds set it ease to do
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  Speaker 1: their jobs, can't they.
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  Speaker 2: Well, they have to. I mean the thing is if
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  Speaker 2: if there's any concern about being sued or whatever, that
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  Speaker 2: makes it the practitioners anxious. So they have to be
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  Speaker 2: assured that they're all acting in good faith and being
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  Speaker 2: supported by the government who developers roll out.
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  Speaker 1: Now, let's talk about telehealth, because this is something that
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  Speaker 1: was enacted. When we're in the midst of COVID, we're
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  Speaker 1: able to sort of call our doctor or you know,
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  Speaker 1: go through the clinic and be able to do a
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  Speaker 1: telehealth phone hook up if we needed to. Is this
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  Speaker 1: something that's going to be coming to an end.
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  Speaker 2: My understanding is it is being extended, but again it's
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  Speaker 2: a big cost to the taxpayer, and I suppose the
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  Speaker 2: government's reviewing the costs. You know, there are some big
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  Speaker 2: expenses coming our way with the Age Care raw Commission
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  Speaker 2: and potential one percent tax impost for that to pay
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  Speaker 2: for all the recommendations of the or Commission to age Care.
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  Speaker 2: And I suppose the government is monitoring the neat for
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  Speaker 2: the telehealth versus the cost of the taxpath through Medicare,
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  Speaker 2: so they'll make a decision and in good time. I
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  Speaker 2: suspect one or the other, but I understand it's going
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  Speaker 2: on for the time being.
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  Speaker 1: All right, So at this point in time, it is
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  Speaker 1: still something that you can do, but we'll have to
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  Speaker 1: keep an eye on when that always set to come
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  Speaker 1: to an end.
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  Speaker 2: That's correct.
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  Speaker 1: Anything else we should be aware of this morning, doctor Parker,
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  Speaker 1: Not really, Katie.
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  Speaker 2: I think that's about it at the moment. We're looking
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  Speaker 2: forward to. The review has been done into the Royal
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  Speaker 2: Dale and Hospital traffic management situation. You know, after that
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  Speaker 2: incident where someone at an accident at the front hospital,
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  Speaker 2: there were accues of traffic, including ambulances and other emergency vehicles.
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  Speaker 2: The government has organized a independent review. That's we're looking
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  Speaker 2: forward to that review to see if things we improved.
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  Speaker 1: Any idea how long that one's going to.
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  Speaker 2: Take, Well, it was given a couple of weeks ago
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  Speaker 2: and I think it's we've got a couple of months
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  Speaker 2: to do it, so we'll look forward to hearing about
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  Speaker 2: that in the middle of the year. Yep, I'm seeing
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  Speaker 2: any solutions to that, but otherwise than nothing, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I can think of the.
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  Speaker 1: Moment well, Doctor Robert Parker, the head of the Australian
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  Speaker 1: Medical Association's Northern Territory branch. It's always good to catch
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  Speaker 1: up with you. We appreciate your time.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you very much, Katie, thank you