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: The UK has become the first country in the world
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  Speaker 1: to grant approval to the Pfizer COVID nineteen vaccine, with
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  Speaker 1: that jab to be rolled out from early next week,
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  Speaker 1: potentially as Britain's death toll has climbed towards sixty thousand people.
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  Speaker 1: But what does that mean for Australia. Well, the Australian
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  Speaker 1: government has described the emergency approval of the vaccine as
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  Speaker 1: an important step for the world, but they're standing firm
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  Speaker 1: on that timeline for those vaccinations against coronavirus in Australia
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  Speaker 1: to start from.
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  Speaker 2: March next year.
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  Speaker 1: Now joining me on the line is doctor Robert Parker,
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  Speaker 1: the president of the Australian Medical Association.
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  Speaker 2: Of the Northern Territory. Good morning, doctor Parker.
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  Speaker 3: Morning Katie.
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  Speaker 1: Now doctor Parker, before we get into the vaccine and
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  Speaker 1: you know what's happening re COVID. I am keen to
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  Speaker 1: find out what's happening out there at Royal Dalwin Hospital.
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  Speaker 1: I understand that there's been a big traffic block at
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  Speaker 1: the hospital this morning.
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  Speaker 3: That's right, Katie. I tried to get to work this
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  Speaker 3: morning and there was traffic block both ways. I understand
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  Speaker 3: it was almost for half an hour apparently there was
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  Speaker 3: there was a major traffic vehicle accident on the entry
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  Speaker 3: road into the hospital. But it's ridiculous in this day
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  Speaker 3: and age you've got such a fragile choke point to
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  Speaker 3: Darwin's Major Hospital. We have we have been discussing this
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  Speaker 3: with the Health Ministry as told us, it's going to
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  Speaker 3: take a considerable time to have a community consultation with
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  Speaker 3: people about a secondary road. But the problem is this
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  Speaker 3: this accident this morning and the ensuing traffic jam, and
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  Speaker 3: there were ambulances blocked in, there were fieries blocked in,
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  Speaker 3: so you know, ambulances couldn't get access to the hospital. Wow,
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  Speaker 3: that sounds ridiculous in this day and age where you know,
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  Speaker 3: Darwin's Major Hospital has only got one very fragile choke
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  Speaker 3: point road into it. Well, there was a problem there.
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  Speaker 3: The hospital doesn't operate.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I mean doctor parking.
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  Speaker 1: You would think, like one would suspect that there was
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  Speaker 1: even like a backway of getting into the hospital or
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  Speaker 1: another way that you know, that would be able to
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  Speaker 1: get those vehicles, those emergency vehicles in and out if required,
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  Speaker 1: because potentially that could be a fairly dangerous situation if
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  Speaker 1: you can't.
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  Speaker 3: It's a critical situation and there's no planning as far
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  Speaker 3: as I understand, for any secondary road to deal with
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  Speaker 3: the situation. So I think it's a major problem for
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  Speaker 3: the for the health department at the moment. I mean,
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  Speaker 3: this is a it's a rare event, but the fact
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  Speaker 3: that you can actually have the hospital blocked and it's
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  Speaker 3: can effect it for half an hour because of a
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  Speaker 3: simple accident, I think it is a major issue for
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  Speaker 3: health and needs to addressed urgently.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: I honestly I was not aware that that was you know,
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  Speaker 1: that that was a situation. I would have thought that
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  Speaker 1: you'd still be able to get people in and out
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  Speaker 1: of the hospital as required. But from what you're saying,
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  Speaker 1: that is just not the case.
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  Speaker 3: That's correct. Well, there was fairly evident this morning with Tree.
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  Speaker 3: I sent you a photograph of traffic Brockland was Drive,
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  Speaker 3: which is normally a very fast traffic flow in Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: So it's just ridiculous so that the health departments allowed
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  Speaker 3: this to occur.
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  Speaker 1: Doctor Parker, I mean, is it fairly essential that they
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  Speaker 1: that they get some work underway, even if it's you know,
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  Speaker 1: it's a small service, right or something, so that you know,
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  Speaker 1: if we need to get emergency vehicles in and out
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  Speaker 1: of the hospital if there's a similar situation down the
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  Speaker 1: track that we're able to do so well.
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  Speaker 3: I understand there's existing roads in through Lions and obviously
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  Speaker 3: that's where the community consultational need to take place. But
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  Speaker 3: there are already existing roads that it wouldn't take much
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  Speaker 3: work to make them operable. So yeah, and there are
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  Speaker 3: other options such as having a further road down Rocklands
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  Speaker 3: Drive that potentially could go above the water course and
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  Speaker 3: act as another entry point. That's obviously going to be
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  Speaker 3: a lot more expensive than trying to look at improving
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  Speaker 3: a road through lines, but obviously the citizens of Lions, yeah,
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  Speaker 3: probably have thoughts about that. But the problem is the
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  Speaker 3: government's got a hospital where like a simple accident can
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  Speaker 3: basically shut the hospital down, and that in this day
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  Speaker 3: and age, you think that's almost essentially bizarre.
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  Speaker 2: Anyway, Yeah, I agree.
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  Speaker 1: Look, I actually think it's I'm glad that you raised
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  Speaker 1: it because it's not something that I was aware of,
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  Speaker 1: and I think it is something that the community needs
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  Speaker 1: to be made aware of and that the Health Department
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  Speaker 1: potentially and the Minister need to take a bit of
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  Speaker 1: a closer look at more urgently.
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  Speaker 3: Well, we certainly are in a discussion with a minister
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  Speaker 3: about that, and I've been in further discussion this morning
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  Speaker 3: with her.
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  Speaker 1: All Right, well, let's wait and see what happens in
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  Speaker 1: that space, Doctor Parker. I appreciate you raising it with us,
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  Speaker 1: so no doubt it impacted quite a few people trying
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  Speaker 1: to get in and out of the hospital today.
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  Speaker 3: Well, as I said, the main concern was watching those
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  Speaker 3: ambulances and fire engines stuck in the traffic. You know,
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  Speaker 3: they had no other option but to sit there along
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  Speaker 3: with the rest of it. I mean, the people in
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  Speaker 3: main We're just possible is getting to work. There may
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  Speaker 3: have been someone espar to trying to get to the
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  Speaker 3: ED the service, but you know, to see ambulances and
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  Speaker 3: flyings and stuck in traffic but unable to move h
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  Speaker 3: it's a real concern.
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  Speaker 2: It certainly is.
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  Speaker 1: Well, Dr Parker, let's also talk about this situation. I
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  Speaker 1: mentioned just a moment ago that the UK is obviously
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  Speaker 1: the first country in the world to grant approval to
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  Speaker 1: Pfizer this COVID nineteen vaccine, with that jab.
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  Speaker 2: Expected to be rolled out as early as next week.
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  Speaker 1: I guess you know when we hear this type of
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  Speaker 1: international news, we always wonder what it means for Australia
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  Speaker 1: and what it could potentially mean for the Northern territory.
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  Speaker 1: But does it mean that the vaccine has sort of
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  Speaker 1: gone through all the usual protocols that it would need
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  Speaker 1: to go through.
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  Speaker 3: Well, you said to think that the UK regularly authorities
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  Speaker 3: have actually satisfied that it has met some sort of
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  Speaker 3: safety standard. I mean it has been brought up though
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  Speaker 3: that there was a recent AMA executive meeting with some
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  Speaker 3: very wise heads and who pointed out that there's a
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  Speaker 3: lot of public stuff about the vaccines, but there's very
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  Speaker 3: little medical evidence in terms of whether they're working or not.
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  Speaker 3: And I suppose the great advantage for Australia with the
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  Speaker 3: current situation of the UK is that when they introduce
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  Speaker 3: the vaccine, we'll have a couple of months to evaluate it,
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  Speaker 3: evaluate its effectiveness, evaluate any significant side effects before we
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  Speaker 3: look at population similar population issues in Australia.
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  Speaker 1: And do you reckon that's essential for us here in
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  Speaker 1: Australia before we even look at rolling something like this out,
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  Speaker 1: we've really got to be quite confident that it is
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  Speaker 1: working in the UK.
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  Speaker 3: Well, it's correct, I mean, we want to make sure
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  Speaker 3: that the vaccine actually does work and control COVID, and
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  Speaker 3: we also want to see if there's any significant side
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  Speaker 3: effects of the curve from the use of it. So,
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  Speaker 3: you know, in many ways, the UK population is a
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  Speaker 3: test population, and I suppose Australia will be watching very
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  Speaker 3: closely to see what happens with it.
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  Speaker 1: And I mean, would you be confident with something like
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  Speaker 1: this rolling out in Australia at this stage or do
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  Speaker 1: we you know, is it really going to need to
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  Speaker 1: be tested, tried and tested before we even look.
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  Speaker 2: At it here?
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  Speaker 3: Well, given the lack of scientific evidence, I'm cautious and
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  Speaker 3: I prefer to wait and see, you know, to see
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  Speaker 3: what happens. And I mean, it'll be a very good
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  Speaker 3: population study, and I presume there'll be some expert scientific
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  Speaker 3: papers coming out of what happens in the UK Australia.
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  Speaker 3: You know, the experts in Australia will be able to
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  Speaker 3: gauge whether the vaccine's a good thing or a bad
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  Speaker 3: thing based on that evidence coming from the UK.
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  Speaker 1: From a you know, from a layman's perspective, it does
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  Speaker 1: seem like it could be a real game changer for
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  Speaker 1: us when it comes to you know, when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to COVID and and the way in which we're managing
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  Speaker 1: things all around the world.
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  Speaker 3: Well, that's right. I mean the issue is at the
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  Speaker 3: moment Australias would be way ahead of the pack in
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  Speaker 3: terms of its control of COVID. I mean, our main
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  Speaker 3: problem is obviously our connection to the rest of the world,
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  Speaker 3: but we have to balance that against a couple of
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  Speaker 3: months just when to see if this vaccine's worth because
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  Speaker 3: if act, you know, as I've said numerous times before,
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  Speaker 3: if the's fact, if the bug gets it back into Australia,
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  Speaker 3: we're going to have all the same issues we had
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  Speaker 3: in Melbourne, and that was a disaster both for the
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  Speaker 3: people of Melbourne and their economy. So I think we're
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  Speaker 3: very lucky to be in the position we're in and
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  Speaker 3: we can basically have the I suppose a distant view
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  Speaker 3: of whether this vaccines effective.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and doctor Parker, with the borders now essentially opened,
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  Speaker 1: I mean there's no COVID hot spots right now, so
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  Speaker 1: essentially the northern territories open to all of Australia. Has
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  Speaker 1: everything been running fairly smoothly from your perspective.
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  Speaker 3: Well, yeah, I mean everything you know, the Executive has
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  Speaker 3: been monitoring the whole situation very closely, having weekly meetings
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  Speaker 3: that decided now to put them all off till till January,
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  Speaker 3: which I think indicates from an AMA perspective that you know,
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  Speaker 3: things are certainly much more on the control than they
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  Speaker 3: were a couple of months ago. So I think I think,
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  Speaker 3: you know, again, congratulations to all the health departments, to
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  Speaker 3: all the c chos have been basically managing this, and
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  Speaker 3: the National Cabinet for having some very effective ways of
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  Speaker 3: keeping Australia safe.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, we seem to be. We seem to be doing
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  Speaker 1: a good job here in Australia. Hats off to everybody involved,
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  Speaker 1: including us as you know as Aussies, that we've been
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  Speaker 1: able to do that.
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  Speaker 3: That's correct. Yeah, I think we're in a very lucky position.
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  Speaker 3: This is a very dangerous bug. It's still out there
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  Speaker 3: and obviously you know we're seeing from the UK from
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  Speaker 3: America at the name of the damage it's doing. So
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  Speaker 3: I think, you know, I think it's from my you know,
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  Speaker 3: an AMA perspective of watching weight is far more preferable.
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  Speaker 3: And again there's there's all sorts of issues here with
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  Speaker 3: Cold Chaine as well, this particular vaccine requires a very
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  Speaker 3: strict cold chain protocol and we have to make sure
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  Speaker 3: that would also be interesting to see whether those could
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  Speaker 3: chanre issues come up in terms of the effectiveness of
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  Speaker 3: the vaccines. So I'm sure that'll be reviewed as well.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I was going to say, particularly for US in
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  Speaker 1: somewhere like Northern Australia, if you've got to keep the
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  Speaker 1: vaccine extra cold, it may be an issue.
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  Speaker 3: That's correct. That's correct. So it's going to be interesting
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  Speaker 3: to see the as much the process of vaccination if
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  Speaker 3: there's any problems with that. Yeah, and again again the
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  Speaker 3: UK is a good experimental population for us through you
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  Speaker 3: in a few months to see if everything's working.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, yeah, oh well, doctor Robert Parker, it's always good
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  Speaker 1: to catch up with you.
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  Speaker 2: I really appreciate your time this morning.
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  Speaker 3: Okay, thanks Katie, thank you, And it.
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  Speaker 2: Is just on twenty nine minutes after nine o'clock.
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  Speaker 1: I'm always really interested in doctor Robert Parker's perspective, particularly
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  Speaker 1: as the head of the AMA here in the territory,
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  Speaker 1: when you look at something like that COVID nineteen vaccine
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  Speaker 1: or the fires A vaccine, I should say, and how
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  Speaker 1: it may roll over to Australia and indeed the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 1: When you're talking about such a huge in national story
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  Speaker 1: and a story of significance in terms of that vaccine
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  Speaker 1: being approved, I mean potentially rolling out as early as
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  Speaker 1: next week.
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  Speaker 2: It seems quite phenomenal.
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  Speaker 1: Keen to get your thoughts on that, though, if you know,
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  Speaker 1: would you be confident having it at this stage. I
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  Speaker 1: feel the same as what Dr Parker said, and also
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  Speaker 1: what Matti Hipworth and I were discussing a little earlier,
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  Speaker 1: where it will be a good opportunity to wait and
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  Speaker 1: see how it rolls out in the UK first, where
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  Speaker 1: we know that they are having real, real issues.
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  Speaker 2: They're trying to flatten that curve.