❓ Mr. Dean raises concerns about elderly residents' access to GP services, particularly home and hostel visits. Mr. Kucera acknowledges the issue, citing a decline in GP visits and criticizes the federal government's lack of support for GPs and bulk-billing.
AnsweredQoN 581Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Is the minister aware of the problems many elderly residents are having getting access to general practitioner services, particularly home or hostel visits? Mr R.C. KUCERA
AnswerView source ↗
This is something we all need to be very concerned about. There has been a very worrying and sharp decline in the number of general practitioners providing treatment at home, but more importantly in nursing homes. The following figures are not my figures; they were recently released by the Health Insurance Commission. Between 2001 and 2002, GP visits to private homes fell by over 10.4 per cent across the State, representing more than 10 000 individual consultations. The unfortunate part about that is that the vast majority of those figures relate to our elderly and infirm. Nursing home visits fell by a total of two per cent, representing more than 2 000 visits across the State. The figures that are really concerning are those that apply in the metropolitan area, and I will cite some of those figures from the Health Insurance Commission data. There has been a 66.7 per cent decline in home visits by GPs in the Rockingham-Kwinana area; a 55.4 per cent decline in the Canning area; a 45.2 per cent decline in the Perth and hills districts; and a 40.4 per cent decline in the western suburbs where many people can afford to pay a co-payment. Is it any wonder this has occurred, when the cost of a GP calling at a home is about $34? A plumber would not even turn out to fix a tap for that, let alone someone coming out to fix somebody’s life. Mr M.J. Birney interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: The member for Kalgoorlie should listen to this because it is happening in his area, too. There has been an 18.7 per cent decline in GP visits to nursing homes in Canning. Areas such as Canning, including the electorate of the member for Murdoch, have many nursing homes and there has been a major decline in the attendance of GPs. The result is that much sicker people are arriving at the front doors of our hospitals. This is not an attack on GPs; the GPs are battling. The only areas in which there has been an increase is Osborne Park in my electorate and the area covered by the member for Innaloo, where the GPs - along with a group of GPs from the Fremantle area - have gone out specifically to visit nursing homes to make sure that the elderly and the infirm are taken care of. They have disregarded the federal Government’s neglect of the bulk-billing arrangements. The federal Government should hang its head in shame for what it is doing to our family doctor system; it should also hang its head in shame for the lack of support it is giving to our family doctors who are struggling to support those most vulnerable and most in need of health care; that is, our elderly people. Instead of opposition members sitting there carping and criticising, they should join with us and make sure that their colleagues in Canberra understand the impact of their policies. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! I call the members for Murdoch and Carine to order for the first time.
Mr R.C. KUCERA replied: This is something we all need to be very concerned about. There has been a very worrying and sharp decline in the number of general practitioners providing treatment at home, but more importantly in nursing homes. The following figures are not my figures; they were recently released by the Health Insurance Commission. Between 2001 and 2002, GP visits to private homes fell by over 10.4 per cent across the State, representing more than 10 000 individual consultations. The unfortunate part about that is that the vast majority of those figures relate to our elderly and infirm. Nursing home visits fell by a total of two per cent, representing more than 2 000 visits across the State. The figures that are really concerning are those that apply in the metropolitan area, and I will cite some of those figures from the Health Insurance Commission data. There has been a 66.7 per cent decline in home visits by GPs in the Rockingham-Kwinana area; a 55.4 per cent decline in the Canning area; a 45.2 per cent decline in the Perth and hills districts; and a 40.4 per cent decline in the western suburbs where many people can afford to pay a co-payment. Is it any wonder this has occurred, when the cost of a GP calling at a home is about $34? A plumber would not even turn out to fix a tap for that, let alone someone coming out to fix somebody’s life. Mr M.J. Birney interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: The member for Kalgoorlie should listen to this because it is happening in his area, too. There has been an 18.7 per cent decline in GP visits to nursing homes in Canning. Areas such as Canning, including the electorate of the member for Murdoch, have many nursing homes and there has been a major decline in the attendance of GPs. The result is that much sicker people are arriving at the front doors of our hospitals. This is not an attack on GPs; the GPs are battling. The only areas in which there has been an increase is Osborne Park in my electorate and the area covered by the member for Innaloo, where the GPs - along with a group of GPs from the Fremantle area - have gone out specifically to visit nursing homes to make sure that the elderly and the infirm are taken care of. They have disregarded the federal Government’s neglect of the bulk-billing arrangements. The federal Government should hang its head in shame for what it is doing to our family doctor system; it should also hang its head in shame for the lack of support it is giving to our family doctors who are struggling to support those most vulnerable and most in need of health care; that is, our elderly people. Instead of opposition members sitting there carping and criticising, they should join with us and make sure that their colleagues in Canberra understand the impact of their policies. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! I call the members for Murdoch and Carine to order for the first time.
This is something we all need to be very concerned about. There has been a very worrying and sharp decline in the number of general practitioners providing treatment at home, but more importantly in nursing homes. The following figures are not my figures; they were recently released by the Health Insurance Commission. Between 2001 and 2002, GP visits to private homes fell by over 10.4 per cent across the State, representing more than 10 000 individual consultations. The unfortunate part about that is that the vast majority of those figures relate to our elderly and infirm. Nursing home visits fell by a total of two per cent, representing more than 2 000 visits across the State. The figures that are really concerning are those that apply in the metropolitan area, and I will cite some of those figures from the Health Insurance Commission data. There has been a 66.7 per cent decline in home visits by GPs in the Rockingham-Kwinana area; a 55.4 per cent decline in the Canning area; a 45.2 per cent decline in the Perth and hills districts; and a 40.4 per cent decline in the western suburbs where many people can afford to pay a co-payment. Is it any wonder this has occurred, when the cost of a GP calling at a home is about $34? A plumber would not even turn out to fix a tap for that, let alone someone coming out to fix somebody’s life. Mr M.J. Birney interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: The member for Kalgoorlie should listen to this because it is happening in his area, too. There has been an 18.7 per cent decline in GP visits to nursing homes in Canning. Areas such as Canning, including the electorate of the member for Murdoch, have many nursing homes and there has been a major decline in the attendance of GPs. The result is that much sicker people are arriving at the front doors of our hospitals. This is not an attack on GPs; the GPs are battling. The only areas in which there has been an increase is Osborne Park in my electorate and the area covered by the member for Innaloo, where the GPs - along with a group of GPs from the Fremantle area - have gone out specifically to visit nursing homes to make sure that the elderly and the infirm are taken care of. They have disregarded the federal Government’s neglect of the bulk-billing arrangements. The federal Government should hang its head in shame for what it is doing to our family doctor system; it should also hang its head in shame for the lack of support it is giving to our family doctors who are struggling to support those most vulnerable and most in need of health care; that is, our elderly people. Instead of opposition members sitting there carping and criticising, they should join with us and make sure that their colleagues in Canberra understand the impact of their policies. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! I call the members for Murdoch and Carine to order for the first time.
Mr M.J. Birney interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: The member for Kalgoorlie should listen to this because it is happening in his area, too. There has been an 18.7 per cent decline in GP visits to nursing homes in Canning. Areas such as Canning, including the electorate of the member for Murdoch, have many nursing homes and there has been a major decline in the attendance of GPs. The result is that much sicker people are arriving at the front doors of our hospitals. This is not an attack on GPs; the GPs are battling. The only areas in which there has been an increase is Osborne Park in my electorate and the area covered by the member for Innaloo, where the GPs - along with a group of GPs from the Fremantle area - have gone out specifically to visit nursing homes to make sure that the elderly and the infirm are taken care of. They have disregarded the federal Government’s neglect of the bulk-billing arrangements. The federal Government should hang its head in shame for what it is doing to our family doctor system; it should also hang its head in shame for the lack of support it is giving to our family doctors who are struggling to support those most vulnerable and most in need of health care; that is, our elderly people. Instead of opposition members sitting there carping and criticising, they should join with us and make sure that their colleagues in Canberra understand the impact of their policies. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! I call the members for Murdoch and Carine to order for the first time.
Mr R.C. KUCERA: The member for Kalgoorlie should listen to this because it is happening in his area, too. There has been an 18.7 per cent decline in GP visits to nursing homes in Canning. Areas such as Canning, including the electorate of the member for Murdoch, have many nursing homes and there has been a major decline in the attendance of GPs. The result is that much sicker people are arriving at the front doors of our hospitals. This is not an attack on GPs; the GPs are battling. The only areas in which there has been an increase is Osborne Park in my electorate and the area covered by the member for Innaloo, where the GPs - along with a group of GPs from the Fremantle area - have gone out specifically to visit nursing homes to make sure that the elderly and the infirm are taken care of. They have disregarded the federal Government’s neglect of the bulk-billing arrangements. The federal Government should hang its head in shame for what it is doing to our family doctor system; it should also hang its head in shame for the lack of support it is giving to our family doctors who are struggling to support those most vulnerable and most in need of health care; that is, our elderly people. Instead of opposition members sitting there carping and criticising, they should join with us and make sure that their colleagues in Canberra understand the impact of their policies. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! I call the members for Murdoch and Carine to order for the first time.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! I call the members for Murdoch and Carine to order for the first time.
The SPEAKER: Order! I call the members for Murdoch and Carine to order for the first time.
Mr R.C. KUCERA replied: This is something we all need to be very concerned about. There has been a very worrying and sharp decline in the number of general practitioners providing treatment at home, but more importantly in nursing homes. The following figures are not my figures; they were recently released by the Health Insurance Commission. Between 2001 and 2002, GP visits to private homes fell by over 10.4 per cent across the State, representing more than 10 000 individual consultations. The unfortunate part about that is that the vast majority of those figures relate to our elderly and infirm. Nursing home visits fell by a total of two per cent, representing more than 2 000 visits across the State. The figures that are really concerning are those that apply in the metropolitan area, and I will cite some of those figures from the Health Insurance Commission data. There has been a 66.7 per cent decline in home visits by GPs in the Rockingham-Kwinana area; a 55.4 per cent decline in the Canning area; a 45.2 per cent decline in the Perth and hills districts; and a 40.4 per cent decline in the western suburbs where many people can afford to pay a co-payment. Is it any wonder this has occurred, when the cost of a GP calling at a home is about $34? A plumber would not even turn out to fix a tap for that, let alone someone coming out to fix somebody’s life. Mr M.J. Birney interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: The member for Kalgoorlie should listen to this because it is happening in his area, too. There has been an 18.7 per cent decline in GP visits to nursing homes in Canning. Areas such as Canning, including the electorate of the member for Murdoch, have many nursing homes and there has been a major decline in the attendance of GPs. The result is that much sicker people are arriving at the front doors of our hospitals. This is not an attack on GPs; the GPs are battling. The only areas in which there has been an increase is Osborne Park in my electorate and the area covered by the member for Innaloo, where the GPs - along with a group of GPs from the Fremantle area - have gone out specifically to visit nursing homes to make sure that the elderly and the infirm are taken care of. They have disregarded the federal Government’s neglect of the bulk-billing arrangements. The federal Government should hang its head in shame for what it is doing to our family doctor system; it should also hang its head in shame for the lack of support it is giving to our family doctors who are struggling to support those most vulnerable and most in need of health care; that is, our elderly people. Instead of opposition members sitting there carping and criticising, they should join with us and make sure that their colleagues in Canberra understand the impact of their policies. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! I call the members for Murdoch and Carine to order for the first time.
This is something we all need to be very concerned about. There has been a very worrying and sharp decline in the number of general practitioners providing treatment at home, but more importantly in nursing homes. The following figures are not my figures; they were recently released by the Health Insurance Commission. Between 2001 and 2002, GP visits to private homes fell by over 10.4 per cent across the State, representing more than 10 000 individual consultations. The unfortunate part about that is that the vast majority of those figures relate to our elderly and infirm. Nursing home visits fell by a total of two per cent, representing more than 2 000 visits across the State. The figures that are really concerning are those that apply in the metropolitan area, and I will cite some of those figures from the Health Insurance Commission data. There has been a 66.7 per cent decline in home visits by GPs in the Rockingham-Kwinana area; a 55.4 per cent decline in the Canning area; a 45.2 per cent decline in the Perth and hills districts; and a 40.4 per cent decline in the western suburbs where many people can afford to pay a co-payment. Is it any wonder this has occurred, when the cost of a GP calling at a home is about $34? A plumber would not even turn out to fix a tap for that, let alone someone coming out to fix somebody’s life. Mr M.J. Birney interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: The member for Kalgoorlie should listen to this because it is happening in his area, too. There has been an 18.7 per cent decline in GP visits to nursing homes in Canning. Areas such as Canning, including the electorate of the member for Murdoch, have many nursing homes and there has been a major decline in the attendance of GPs. The result is that much sicker people are arriving at the front doors of our hospitals. This is not an attack on GPs; the GPs are battling. The only areas in which there has been an increase is Osborne Park in my electorate and the area covered by the member for Innaloo, where the GPs - along with a group of GPs from the Fremantle area - have gone out specifically to visit nursing homes to make sure that the elderly and the infirm are taken care of. They have disregarded the federal Government’s neglect of the bulk-billing arrangements. The federal Government should hang its head in shame for what it is doing to our family doctor system; it should also hang its head in shame for the lack of support it is giving to our family doctors who are struggling to support those most vulnerable and most in need of health care; that is, our elderly people. Instead of opposition members sitting there carping and criticising, they should join with us and make sure that their colleagues in Canberra understand the impact of their policies. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! I call the members for Murdoch and Carine to order for the first time.
Mr M.J. Birney interjected. Mr R.C. KUCERA: The member for Kalgoorlie should listen to this because it is happening in his area, too. There has been an 18.7 per cent decline in GP visits to nursing homes in Canning. Areas such as Canning, including the electorate of the member for Murdoch, have many nursing homes and there has been a major decline in the attendance of GPs. The result is that much sicker people are arriving at the front doors of our hospitals. This is not an attack on GPs; the GPs are battling. The only areas in which there has been an increase is Osborne Park in my electorate and the area covered by the member for Innaloo, where the GPs - along with a group of GPs from the Fremantle area - have gone out specifically to visit nursing homes to make sure that the elderly and the infirm are taken care of. They have disregarded the federal Government’s neglect of the bulk-billing arrangements. The federal Government should hang its head in shame for what it is doing to our family doctor system; it should also hang its head in shame for the lack of support it is giving to our family doctors who are struggling to support those most vulnerable and most in need of health care; that is, our elderly people. Instead of opposition members sitting there carping and criticising, they should join with us and make sure that their colleagues in Canberra understand the impact of their policies. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! I call the members for Murdoch and Carine to order for the first time.
Mr R.C. KUCERA: The member for Kalgoorlie should listen to this because it is happening in his area, too. There has been an 18.7 per cent decline in GP visits to nursing homes in Canning. Areas such as Canning, including the electorate of the member for Murdoch, have many nursing homes and there has been a major decline in the attendance of GPs. The result is that much sicker people are arriving at the front doors of our hospitals. This is not an attack on GPs; the GPs are battling. The only areas in which there has been an increase is Osborne Park in my electorate and the area covered by the member for Innaloo, where the GPs - along with a group of GPs from the Fremantle area - have gone out specifically to visit nursing homes to make sure that the elderly and the infirm are taken care of. They have disregarded the federal Government’s neglect of the bulk-billing arrangements. The federal Government should hang its head in shame for what it is doing to our family doctor system; it should also hang its head in shame for the lack of support it is giving to our family doctors who are struggling to support those most vulnerable and most in need of health care; that is, our elderly people. Instead of opposition members sitting there carping and criticising, they should join with us and make sure that their colleagues in Canberra understand the impact of their policies. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! I call the members for Murdoch and Carine to order for the first time.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! I call the members for Murdoch and Carine to order for the first time.
The SPEAKER: Order! I call the members for Murdoch and Carine to order for the first time.
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