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AMA Victoria responds to State Government pledge to Tort Law Reform
The State Government’s commitment to maintaining access to quality healthcare for Victorians took a step in the right direction today as the Premier unveiled a package for significant insurance reform.
AMA Victoria President Dr Mukesh Haikerwal said that all Victorians should take credit for the reforms suggesting that the pressure and concern of the public was the most influential factor in development of the package.
“Today’s announcement is a response to a very loud and clear message sent to the State Government from patients and doctors throughout the State, and they should feel proud of their efforts in stimulating this change.”
“The right of the public to access health services is of paramount importance to doctors and we feel that the package does go some way to protect this” said Dr Haikerwal.
Dr Haikerwal said AMA Victoria welcomed the Premier’s commitment to introduce a Bill into the Spring Session of Parliament to ensure that standards of medical care are determined by experts in their particular area of expertise as recommended in the Ipp Report.
He also welcomed the introduction of a robust general damages threshold but said it was disappointing that the Government has not seen fit to apply this reform to all claims lodged from today.
“With the transitional period it must be anticipated that there will be an escalation in the lodgment of relatively minor claims prior to the introduction of the general damages threshold” said Dr Haikerwal.
Addressing the statute of limitations, Dr Haikerwal said that the reduction of the period during which a minor can take action returns some confidence to doctors but there will still be anxiety about insurance cover following retirement.
“Retention of court discretion to extend timeframes removes absolute certainty that a doctor will not be subject to action at a later date. It is now with a sense of urgency that we look to the Federal Government to establish a scheme for the cover after a doctor’s death retirement” said Dr Haikerwal.
Dr Haikerwal said assurances from the State Government regarding tort law reform should encourage the Federal Government to pull its weight on the indemnity issue.
“Now is the time to focus our energies on achieving a satisfactory a Federal Government response to the medical profession’s calls for a government guarantee for any payment which exceeds the cap of the doctor’s insurance cover” said Dr Haikerwal.
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