FW: **Critical Shortage** regional doctors & nurses

From: Ricky Pascoe [mailto:pascoericky@yahoo.com.au]
Sent: Tuesday, 8 February 2022 5:45 PM
To: contact@catefaehrmann.org; Koomurri Dawson; Aboriginal Social Media & Communications Network; George Our Mob; grant.stan@abc.net.au; Australian Human Rights Commission; Leon Petrou; Legal and Constitutional Committee (SEN); Lambie, Jacqui (Senator); Dodson, Patrick (Senator); McDougall, Rebecca (T. Butler, MP); Natasha Stott Despoja; Minister Wyatt; National Indigenous TV; The Conversation; Ombudsman Central; Joseph Irving; Christine Ross; rondoy@y7mail.com; David Weatherall; Luke Bona; 7News Brisbane Sport; Building Community Joe Kelly; Kylie Jerome
Subject: Re: **Critical Shortage** regional doctors & nurses

Australia needs this matter investigated .

Malati ,Ricky Pascoe

Juckembul Ngarabul messenger

On Tue., 8 Feb. 2022 at 13:00, Cate Faehrmann

<contact@catefaehrmann.org&gt; wrote:

Hi Ricky  I promised to keep you updated about the regional health inquiry I’ve been a part of which has exposed the dire situation of regional, rural and remote healthcare services in NSW.  I’ve just been in the last of 15 days of hearings for this inquiry (it might just be the most extensive on record!) and the same thing was being told to us over and over again. For too long there has been underinvestment in our regional health workforce and we’re now bearing the consequences.  Most frightening are the reports of critical shortages of regional doctors and nurses, which we heard was a massive issue even before Covid! Story after story of just how hard it is to attract GPs to rural NSW, of towns down to a handful of GPs with no relief in sight, of GPs closing their books because of the demand with patients having to wait months for an appointment or simply people having to travel hundreds of kms if they’re lucky enough to get an appointment in another town. WATCH THE NEWS CLIP The pandemic has exposed the growing cracks in a system that’s been in trouble for a long time. The good news though is that there are some pretty simple things the government could do right now to make a huge difference. First, pandemic pay and bonuses for all frontline healthcare workers. Workers in Sydney Hospitals are desperately overworked. Can you imagine what it’s like in regional and rural communities that didn’t have enough doctors and nurses to begin with?  Second, regional doctors must also be encouraged and supported to remain working and living in these communities. At the moment it’s actually more financially viable for regional doctors to move around than it is to settle down in one place, meaning they’re essentially encouraged to leave. Third, we need safe staff to patient ratios, better conditions and fair pay for nurses and paramedics. They’ve been crying out for years and we know this would make a difference in attracting and retaining people to work in our public health system.  While we’re at it let’s get some mass recruiting and training of all frontline healthcare workers happening! Free education and a study allowance could go a long way here and seems like a no-brainer to me. Any other ideas? Let me know in the comment section on Facebook or send a quick reply to this email.  One thing is for sure [name] is that we need to keep fighting to ensure everyone has access to timely, adequate healthcare when they need it.  Thanks for continuing to show an interest in this work. Cate Faehrmann NSW Greens MP and health spokesperson

Authorised by Greens MP Cate Faehrmann, Suite D 275, Broadway, Glebe NSW 2037 This email was sent to pascoericky@yahoo.com.au If you would like to stop receiving these emails you can unsubscribe. Follow Cate on Facebook, on Twitter and on Instagram Cate Faehrmann warawi garama nura Gadigal. Cate Faehrmann stands on the stolen land of the Gadigal.