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Adequate health planning essential to support population increase
30 October 2007
AMA Victoria is urging the state government to plan for adequate health services to accommodate Melbourne’s unprecedented population increase.
This increase, due to migration and rising birth rates, is adding 1000 people to Victoria’s population every week. The population boom has exceeded the expectations of government planners and additional health funding is critical to meet public health demands.
AMA Victorian President, Dr Doug Travis, says it is vital for governments to plan adequately for public health care.
“A population increase of this scale can’t be ignored. We need more beds, extra nurses, doctors and support staff, as well as a plan to invest for future health needs.
“We’ve already seen planning problems with maternity services across the state, and the reports today of the baby boom show that government has just got maternity services wrong.
“In particular, we need to support general practitioner obstetricians’ access to hospitals across Victoria. If we don’t help GP obstetricians practice their craft, they will become a dying breed. We have some wonderful specialist obstetricians, but they need the support of well trained general practitioners,” Dr Travis said.
Dr Travis says with population growth comes changes in demographics, disease profiles and a rise in complex, chronic conditions that need to be managed.
“Other problems will develop in other areas of health care without adequate planning,” he said. “The prevailing wisdom is that we should have around 2.6 hospital beds per 1000 people. We are getting our extra 1000 people every week in Victoria, but we are not getting the extra beds.
“We need to be prepared to deal with emerging challenges. A well-funded, flexible public health system which can meet the demands of a changing population is the answer.”
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