Rudds Community Health focus is a primary health economic cost saving strategy and will do much to stimulate long-term primary health resources, building a new primary care infrastructure which includes a formal idenified role for local GPs(rural areas) and the idea of GP Super clinics. (Toward a Nation and State 'No Wrong Door Policy')

Health Care is not on the agenda of the federal Health Minister Tony Abbott as he continies to refuse good fair reason with faceless motives saying:

"The important task at the present time is to get re-elected and that is where my energies are focused."

I believe the states and territories through a modern primary health combined infrastructure can and will do much to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions, non-urgent accident and emergency presentations and I believe under a ALP Federal Governmnet the States will leap forward resolving many problems before the 2009 proposed deadline.

'Alma Ata - Health for All' policies under the ALP will invest in more primary care services in local communities, to keep people in good health and take pressure off public hospitals.

Of most importance; A Federal ALP government will unlock efficiencies, reduce duplication and overlap as well as the ROADBLOCKS offered presently by the Federal Governments election focus.

I believe there is a lot to economically look forward to in the Rudd health plan.

Accummulating good social capital through innovative cultural reform will support ground level "community engagements" presently in conflict with the present civic health system.

http://www.miacat.com/
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Here is Labor off in fairy land again.They are going to fix it by throwing money at.Make anything free and people will abuse it.

Everyone should pay something to see their GP and pay to use specialists services.Why do the rich also get free health services?

Increase the pension and even pensioners pay for a visit for minor ailments with chronic conditions an exception.

Just watch when Labor gets in,they make Gough Whitlam seem like a very sober sailor.

"They will take a great deal of the load from Emergency Departments of public hospitals. And they will have an immediate, positive and long lasting impact on the health of the community."

Wrong! it takes time and commitment on the part of governments to keep funding these services. Change of government change of funding, if labor has a good idea, the coalition cans it, it the coalition has a good idea Federal Labor cans it. Simple Political parties wreck each other and us along with it.

"herefore, means must be found to reduce the pressures on acute care. We must rather begin to ask: what must we do to keep people well?"

Johntas, Wednesday, 29 August 2007 12:16:09 PM

Well Johntas even as long ago as 1970 in the ACT had similar clinics. What happened, funding is what happened. any effort to ensure people stay healthy and out of hospital is a long term commitment, and I have heard that message ad nausem.

Now what happens by keeping people out of hospitals? Well then the ones who really need hospital are then usually extremely ill and extremely ill patients cost heaps.

Dr Micheal Sutherland wrote the rise and fall of the Country Hospital. What happens when services are reduced at a country hospital, the patients then move to next available hospital. What happens that the next available hospital, work load increases, cost increase, bureacrats have a pink fit. You must reduce costs they say, yet their decisions created the problem in the first place.

During the 1990's Booze Hamilton and Allen hired out and consulted on many public hospitals on how to reduce costs. Not one single person has published any papers reporting on how effect this was.

Hello, I wrote a big message about Halliburton KBR building a Military establishment in the Northern Territory and this is why they built and leased back the railway line and also why John Howard is pretending to be doing good things for the aboriginal,children, sure thats happening but only so he can mange their land and hand it over to the USA for their on shore aircraft carrier.
Halliburton KBR is always found loitering around major infastructure developments prior to a war,
Now God forbid these evils war mongers but all seems to be fitting into the nuclear waste dump and international uranium sales etc etc.
I also write a blog and would enjoy visits and comments from other souls interested in peace, love, justice and understanding in a sustainable world prepared to communicate and resolve issues without violence.
http://austpsychocouns.blogspot.com/ looking forward to comments. phD

This is simply the most strategic approach to the issues in health I have seen for Australia. There can only be two directions for solving our health issues. Taking a preventative approach through developing primary care, as this paper suggests, or building more and more hospitals to meet health demands that can only increase as the population ages, and as chronic disease increases as we adopt increasingly unhealthy lifestyles. I know I would like to see a fence at the top of the cliff rather than a hospital at the bottom. As Johntas points out this is consistent with many of the directions developed by the Australia Health Care Reform Alliance, a non-political group of health and consumer agencies, that has spent considerable time and effort in trying to improve the delivery of health services.

This is a policy document and we should not expect to see all the details. There are other models than the "super clinics" that may be more appropriate, especially in remote and rural areas but the general concept is sound.

At last we have someone who is interested in keeping us healthy rather than in treating us when we are sick. This paper deserves our detailed consideration. Well done.

"Taking a preventative approach through developing primary care, as this paper suggests,

At last we have someone who is interested in keeping us healthy rather than in treating us when we are sick. This paper deserves our detailed consideration. Well done."

Johnwellness

Well Rip Van Winkle, this has been the aim for at least 30, 40 or 50 years.

Why were vaccines invented?

Simple, to keep people well and to keep them out of hospital.

Why do we have food and health regulations?

To stop people from getting sick and out of hospitals.

In the last two decades our attitude to smoking has changed dramatically, during WW2 soldiers were supplied with tobacco by the government..