Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Federal Regional Health Minister David Gillespie announces a $2 million funding boost for hands on training in Katherine health clinics

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Federal Regional Health Minister David Gillespie announces a $2 million funding boost for hands on training in Katherine health clinics · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Joining me on the line this morning.
• 0:01
  Speaker 2: We know that more than thirty five Allied Health students
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: each year are going to now undertake placements and receive
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: important hands on training in Catherine Health clinics through this
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: one point nine million dollar federal government grant. Now joining
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: me on the line is doctor David Gillespie, the Federal
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Minister for Regional Health.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Good morning to you, doctor Gillespie.
• 0:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah, good morning Katie. Great to be with you.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, wonderful to have you on the show. Now.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: One point nine million dollars for health students to undertake
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: placements in Catherine. What's the aim of this program.
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: It's to get local and nordern territory Allied health students
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: in occupational therapy and speech therapy and other Allied health
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: disciplines practical training on the ground in a regional center.
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: And Catherine's being chosen because there's networks here with the
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: Indigenous Allied Health Australia and Willing Willing Jen and Cathern
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: West Health Board. They have clinics here and Flinda's University
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: has got supervisors. The whole mix will mean that local
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: territory and students get experience as well as some from
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: out of the area get experience in rural and remote Australia.
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: As you know, everyone knows there's nurses and doctors in
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: hospitals and medical centers, but there's also allied health those
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: people like these ots and speech therapists and physios pharmacists.
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: It takes a whole suite of professionals to get a
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: good health service. So we're doing this around Australia, but
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: it's here in the territory being expanded in Catherine well and.
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: I know that it's something we certainly need to have
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: happened in the Northern Territory.
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: Right around the territory.
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  Speaker 2: We have had a shortage, it seems, over recent weeks
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: and months when it comes to some of those various
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: health professions, Doctor Gillespie, How quickly is this going to
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: get underway.
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: I'm meeting with all the partners in this project this morning,
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: hearing Catherine. They want to get going as soon as
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: they get the money, which has been happening behind the scenes,
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: but we're announcing it today and I'm getting a full
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: debrief on when the first students have started or are starting.
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: As you know, they come for rotations and they're supervised
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: by three Allied health clinicians and one Aboriginal Allied Health
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: Assessment assistant. It's great for the local workforce to be
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: evolved in teaching students. It adds a career philip to
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: people who are evolved in it. So it's good for
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: the local health workforce too because these students actually will
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: be treating people under supervision as well.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: Is it going to be enough though, to you know, like,
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: it's obviously great to get them there for these placements,
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: but is it going to be enough to get people
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: to actually move to some of our wonderful regional town
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  Speaker 2: centers like Catherine and you know, get them to stay
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: and to work there longer term.
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah, look, you've nailed it there, Katie. There is
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: an issue around the country. There's way too many health
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: professionals in the big bright lights of cities and we
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: have got so many programs. Some are short immediate terms
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: like financial incentives baked in to give doctors and nurse
• 3:21
  Speaker 3: practitioners extra help financially. And also we've announced in the
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: last six weeks the initiative of Relieving Help or hext
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: step for doctors who go into Rule and Remote Australia.
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: They've got to stay, can't just do it like a
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: three month term there, but if they stay, they get
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: relief of their HELP debt, and same for nurse practitioners,
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: and that started first to January. So all the time
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: they spend here accumulates, they've still got to pay their
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: HEX debt. But if they stay longer term for up
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: to half the length of their medical degree or their
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: nurse practitioner, all of a sudden they get a refund
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: of up to half, and if they stay the whole time,
• 4:05
  Speaker 3: they get a full refund. So that's a big financial incentive.
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: And that's on top of some existing ones that are
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: part of the Medicare system that if you are in
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: these more remote areas you get bulk billing incentive is greater.
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: You get workforce incentive payments for you yourself as well
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: as for the practice to employ allied health like nurse
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: practitioners and psychologists and ots and physiasts. And we've also
• 4:33
  Speaker 3: got support for the Flying Doctor, which is massive presence
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: in the NT and we also have increased since twenty
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: thirteen heaps of the money to the NT Health. Look.
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: I was with just Enterprice and Damian Ryan last night
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: in Catherine. They are right on top of these issues.
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: Damien has lived and worked in the southern part of
• 4:56
  Speaker 3: the territory, but he is getting around everywhere hearing this
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: loud and clear. They're not just looking after small business,
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: which is in our DNA, but they're looking after their
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: health system.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: Well, and I think, and it needs to happen, you know.
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  Speaker 2: I guess we're in a situation where there are some
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  Speaker 2: parts of the Northern Territory where it is difficult to
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: be able to get those healthcare professionals there. I know,
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: last time we had you on the show, when you
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: were talking to us about that initiative to get some
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: of those new graduates out to the more remote areas,
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: somebody in the healthcare system have been in contact and said, look, Katie,
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: it seems like a great idea, but the only concern
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: is are we sending some of these brand new graduates
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: out to locations where the sickest of territorians are living,
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: in some cases with very minimal experience.
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: Well that's not quite correct. The training spots. When you're
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: a GP registrar, you have to have a supervisor, but
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: they qualify for this even if they're working in say
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: an Aboriginal or community controlled health organization, of which there's
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: a huge suite of them in the territory. Whether you're
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: in a private general practice, being supervised as a registrar
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: or in the local hospital, there is the requirement. It
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: doesn't that benefit doesn't kick in upfront. It kicks in
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: if you stay for a significant period of time. We
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: have put so much money into the Flying Doctor, into
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: the indigenous side of things, the Aboriginal Medical Services and
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: the hospitals and the private health networks, the phs. We've
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: got a sweet support, but we can't conscript people. They've
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: got to want to come absolutely for them to have
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: a great experience and earn a proper return for the
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: effort and the reward and the extra responsibility.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Well they won't want to stay.
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: People do get sicker in country areas. That's why we've
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: got this absolute focus on getting the workforce crisis improved
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: in country Australia.
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: Minister, we are going to have to leave it there.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: I really appreciate your time this morning. Thanks very much
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: for having a chat with us about this funding boost.
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: My pleasure.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: Thank you.