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2010
For AMA Victoria comment and information: Media Contact-
Tobacco display ban welcome but more reforms needed
31/12/201031 December 2010. The 2011 tobacco display ban is an important step in reducing smoking rates but the Baillieu Government must implement further reforms to de-normalise smoking and reduce the harmful effects of second hand smoke, according to AMA Victoria....
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Put better health on resolutions list
29/12/201029 December 2010. AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley is urging Victorians to improve their health in 2011and stick to New Year’s resolutions to stay healthier for longer. "The new year is a good time to evaluate your health and stop or reduce...
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Summer water safety precautions
27/12/201027 December 2010. Doctors today urged Victorians to be vigilant while enjoying the state’s beaches, lakes, pools and rivers this summer and to take particular care while swimming in unknown waterways. AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said the state’s...
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Drive safely this festive season
22/12/201022 December 2010. AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley today urged Victorians to drive safely this holiday season and take extra care on highways and country roads. "Victoria’s road accident death toll is currently point four per cent higher than...
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Drink safely this festive season
21/12/201021 December 2010. Doctors today urged Victorians to consume alcohol responsibly this festive season to avoid the risk of becoming another statistic of alcohol-related injury or disease. "It is going to be a busy Christmas and New Year period and we just...
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AMA Victoria supports school breakfast club
07/12/201007 December 2010. AMA Victoria’s recent donation to Melbourne Citymission will keep the Meadows Primary School’s Breakfast Club running for another year. The Breakfast Club was established by Melbourne Citymission five years ago to ensure children...
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AMA Victoria welcomes the Hon David Davis MLC appointment as Minister for Health and Ageing
02/12/2010Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-style-parent:""; font-size:10.0pt;"Times New Roman";} 2 December 2010. AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley has welcomed...
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Victorian election health promises
26/11/2010See how the Labor Party and Coalition’s health promises stack up against AMA Victoria’s election priorities here
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New parents need more support
25/11/201025 November 2010. The next Victorian Government must improve breastfeeding and healthy lifestyle support for new and expectant parents to give babies the best start in life, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said today. "Breast feeding provides infants...
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Election commitments needed on public health
22/11/201022 November 2010. With just five days until the 27 November election, the Labor Party and Liberal/National Coalition must outline their plans to reduce Victorians’ major health risk factors and tackle obesity, inactivity, smoking and excessive alcohol...
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AMA puplic hospital report card: Little improvement in public hospital capacity and performance despite extra funding
18/11/201018 November 2010. AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that there had been little improvement in public hospital capacity and performance despite significant extra Commonwealth funding as part of the National Healthcare Agreement and specific funding...
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Long term obesity plan needed
18/11/201018 November 2010. The Australian Labor Party and Liberal/National Coalition must reveal their plans to tackle obesity – the state’s most pressing public health issue – before the 27 November election, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley...
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The Victorian election health debate: Andrews vs Davis
16/11/201016 November 2010. Health Minister Daniel Andrews and opposition health spokesperson David Davis will put each other’s health policies to the test at AMA Victoria’s election health debate in Parkville tonight. Minister Andrews and Mr Davis will...
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Healthcare improvements needed to close the gap
15/11/201015 November 2010. The Labor Party and Liberal/National Coalition must present their strategies for closing the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous health outcomes before the 27 November election, AMA Victoria President Dr...
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Labor bed commitment welcomed
15/11/201015 November 2010. AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley welcomed the Victorian Labor Party’s commitment to add an extra 941 beds if re-elected on 27 November, saying it was a step in the right direction and would begin to reduce patient waiting times...
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Doctors welcome opposition’s commitment on beds
11/11/201011 November 2010. AMA Victoria today welcomed the Victorian Liberal/National Coalition’s commitment to fund an additional 800 public hospital beds in its first term if elected on 27 November. Additional beds are sorely needed to improve patients’...
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Doctors welcome Brumby health promises
08/11/201008 November 2010 AMA Victoria today welcomed the Brumby Government’s election health pledges to treat more public hospital patients on time and to strengthen the medical workforce by training more doctors and supporting rural clinicians. “The Brumby...
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Victorians out of pocket $1bn from low Medicare rebates
03/11/201003 November 2010. The Commonwealth Government’s failure to adequately index Medicare rebates has left Victorians with $1 billion of out of pocket costs for medical consultations, according to AMA Victoria. "Medicare rebates increased by just 1.8...
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Doctors call for obesity strategy
03/11/201003 November 2010. The Brumby Government and Liberal/National Coalition must reveal their plans to tackle obesity – the state’s most pressing public health issue – before the 27 November election, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said...
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Tobacco vendor licences needed to reduce availability
01/11/201001 November 2010. AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley today called on the major parties to commit to implementing a tobacco vendor licence fee before the 27 November election to ensure Victoria did not lag behind other states in tobacco control measures....
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Hidden waiting lists must be uncovered
29/10/201029 October 2010. The Brumby Government must commit to publishing the state’s hidden public hospital waiting lists so patients have the full picture of how long they must wait for elective surgery, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said today. The...
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Prison needle exchange programs needed to curb community health risks
27/10/201026 October 2010. Australia’s rising HIV rates confirm the need to establish controlled sterile needle and syringe programs (NSPs) in prisons as called for in critical national health strategies, the Australian Drugs Conference was told today. Australian...
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Hospital system needs long term plan
25/10/201025 October 2010. The Brumby Government must reveal its ten year growth plan before the 27 November election to show Victorians how it plans to cope with a huge increase in demand at suburban hospitals, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said today. Over...
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Victoria needs a ten year health growth plan
22/10/201022 October 2010. The Brumby Government and Liberal/National Coalition must reveal their ten year health plans to reduce long waits for elective surgery and emergency care before the 27 November election, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said today. "Victorians...
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Victoria deserves fair share of infrastructure funds
22/10/201022 October 2010. Victoria must not be overlooked for its fair share of the Commonwealth’s $1.8bn health and hospitals fund, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley says. "We have a quarter of the population and provide a quarter of the health services...
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Doctors demand WorkCover review
21/10/201021 October 2010. Patients injured at work could face greater difficulty finding a doctor to treat them unless the WorkCover scheme undergoes a major shake-up, an AMA Victoria survey reveals. "A number of doctors have already stopped seeing WorkCover patients,"...
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Harsher penalties needed for liquor licence breaches
19/10/201019 October 2010. The next Victorian Government should crack down on pubs, clubs and bottle shops that breach liquor licensing laws by prosecuting a greater number of licensees and encouraging harsher penalties, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said today....
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Doctors and orders (The Age, letter to the editor)
19/10/201019 October 2010. WYCHEPROOF GP Ken Mulligan's battle to retain his pharmacy dispensary within his own clinic (''It's un-Australian: 'Wychie', struggling to keep its GP, is up in arms over plans to sell off the pharmacy'', The Age, 16/10) is a prime example...
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AMA Victoria to meet with Gippsland doctors
18/10/201018 October 2010. AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley will meet with Gippsland doctors tomorrow (Tuesday 19 October) to discuss the association’s November election priorities and canvass local doctors’ views on improving access to quality health...
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Funding needed for mental health care coordinators
13/10/201013 October 2010. Severely mentally ill Victorians living in the community are missing out on public housing, basic medical care and drug and alcohol support services because of a shortage of mental health care coordinators, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry...
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Audit of doctors’ working hours needed
11/10/201011 October 2010. Victoria’s public hospitals should face spot audits to assess whether doctors’ rosters and working hours meet safety standards and put medical staff at low risk of fatigue , AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said today. "Doctors...
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Use hand sanitiser to reduce spread of bacteria, doctors say
10/10/201010 October 2010. Supermarkets, Medicare offices and government buildings should supply hand sanitisers to visitors to reduce the spread of bacteria through the community, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said today. AMA Victoria has written to Coles,...
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Women-only mental health wards needed
04/10/201004 October 2010. Female psychiatric patients requiring public hospital treatment should have the option of staying in a women-only psychiatric ward to reduce the threat of sexual abuse and harassment by other patients, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley...
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More hospital alternatives needed for frail seniors
03/10/2010v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable...
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Doctors call for stronger penalties to deter ED violence
30/09/201030 September 2010. The next Victorian Government should increase the penalties for assaults against health workers to send a clear message that violence will not be tolerated in the state’s emergency departments, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley...
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Doctor shortage will persist without more specialist training places
29/09/201029 September 2010. Despite a large increase of medical students, the state’s doctor shortage will not let up unless the next Victorian Government commits to more medical specialist training places, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said today. "Access...
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Rural Victoria needs GPs (Weekly Times, opinion editorial)
27/09/201027 September 2010. RURAL Victoria is in danger of losing GPs writes HARRY HEMLEY Country doctors are the lifeblood of many rural communities. Especially the highly skilled proceduralist GPs who do everything from delivering babies, plastering broken arms,...
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Doctors call for smoking ban in alfresco dining areas
23/09/201023 September 2010. The next Victorian Government must follow the lead of Western Australia and protect Victorians from second hand tobacco smoke in alfresco dining areas, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said today. "Not only is cigarette smoke...
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Rural rescue package needed for Victoria’s medical workforce
16/09/201016 September 2010. The next Victorian Government must commit to a rural medical workforce rescue package to improve attraction and retention of country doctors and ensure country Victorians’ access to medical care in the future, says AMA Victoria president...
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Victorian hospitals report shows a need for vision
13/09/201013 September 2010. The latest Your Hospitals report shows Victoria’s hospital system is struggling to cope with the increased demand for services and needs an over-arching plan for improvement, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said today. "Victorians...
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Pathology prize awarded to local doctor
25/08/201025 August 2010. AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley last night awarded Melbourne pathologist Associate Professor Lynda Campbell the prestigious Crawford Mollison Prize for her notable contribution to pathology over the past three years. Associate Professor...
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Beware of faceless medicine
09/08/201009 August 2010. AMA Victoria has warned voters in marginal seats they face restricted access to their family doctor if the Commonwealth Government’s diabetes proposal goes ahead. Brochures are being delivered to GP clinics in marginal Victorian seats...
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Doctors welcome hospital iPad trial
29/07/201029 July 2010. The Brumby Government’s commitment to trial iPads for graduate doctors to use in the state’s public hospitals will improve efficiency and patient care, according to AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley. "Lack of access to computer...
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Why advertising for cold and flu treatments makes me sick (croakey, opinion editorial)
30/06/201030 June 2010. Companies flogging cold and flu treatments may be encouraging the spread of infections because their advertising is encouraging people to soldier on, rather than keeping themselves and their viruses tucked away at home. So says Dr Harry Hemley,...
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The national reform on health: implications on service delivery and institutions
29/06/201029 June 2010. Paper delivered by Dr Harry Hemley to the Council of Economic Development of Australia. Let me be clear: The National Health and Hospital Network Agreement is not health reform. Yet. AMA Victoria sees the Agreement as a health financing and governance...
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Aged care alternatives needed for growing population
28/06/201028 June 2010. The Brumby Government must develop an innovative health care blueprint to care for Victoria’s growing older population outside of the state’s already overburdened public hospital system, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said...
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Doctors warn against soldiering on with colds and flus
27/06/201027 June 2010. Doctors today urged people with severe colds and influenza to consider staying home to rest, aid recovery and avoid infecting others rather than take the advice of some healthcare companies to continue their regular, fast-paced routines when...
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Doctors urge caution on the roads over school holidays
25/06/201025 June 2010. AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley has urged Victorian motorists to take care on the roads over the school holiday period and avoid fatigue by stopping for regular breaks. "If you are going away, plan ahead and don’t set unrealistic...
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Doctors call for prison needle exchange
22/06/201022 June 2010. The Victorian Government must introduce a needle exchange program in Victorian prisons to reduce the transmission of blood born viruses among intravenous drug user detainees, AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said today. The call comes during...
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Will the new-look divisions really serve the locals? (Australian Doctor, opinion editorial)
08/06/201008 June 2010. By Dr Harry Hemley, president of AMA Victoria. THE federal budget last month sounded the death knell for divisions of general practice. Contracts will not be renewed. Soon, divisions will be either converted to Medicare Locals, or simply wound...
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Government health advertising blitz – no patient benefit
07/06/201007 June 2010. AMA Victoria today challenged the Prime Minister to provide health services to patients rather than spend an estimated $2.5 million advertising the government’s health reforms in Victoria. "These ads provide no practical information...
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Hospital funding boost for long-term quality improvement
04/06/201004 June 2010. AMA Victoria welcomes the State Government’s $20 million commitment to drive continual improvements in Victoria’s public hospitals by allowing senior doctors to dedicate more time to research, training and quality assurance activities....
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Doctors welcome reduction in Ombudsman’s powers
03/06/201003 June 2010. AMA Victoria welcomes the Brumby Government’s plans to adopt Elizabeth Proust’s integrity report recommendations and reform the Victorian Ombudsman’s powers and responsibilities. The Review of Victoria’s integrity and...
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If doctors are paid for performance, will some patients miss out? (croakey, opinion editorial)
02/06/201002 June 2010. The move towards paying doctors for performance, as announced recently in the Federal Budget around diabetes care, may have some unintended consequences, cautions AMA Victoria’s president, Dr Harry Hemley. He writes: “Last month’s...
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The beginning of the end for Medicare?
01/06/2010General practitioners face an unprecedented performance shake-up under the Federal Government’s National Health and Hospitals Network with the introduction of performance payments for keeping chronically ill patients out of hospital and the prospect...
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GP study wins AMA Victoria’s Stawell Prize
26/05/201026 May 2010. AMA Victoria awarded its Stawell Prize for medical research to Professor Justin Beilby and his University of Adelaide research team at the association’s AGM last night for his study investigating the efficacy of point-of-care testing in...
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Budget begins to move health system forward
04/05/20104 May 2010. AMA Victoria says the State Budget will make a start towards improving patients’ access to timely health services but lacks the key ingredient for real reform: a comprehensive plan of growth, innovation and reform to meet rising demands....
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Victorian hospitals under severe pressure
29/04/201029 April 2010 The latest Your Hospitals report shows that Victoria’s hospitals are under severe pressure. “The Your Hospitals figures show Victorians desperately need a plan for the future, not just ad hoc quick fixes to plug holes,” AMA Victoria...
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Health deal fails to deliver real reform (The Age, opinion editorial)
22/04/201022 April 2010. After all the noise and spin, little will change in Victoria's hospitals. AFTER what has been touted as the biggest health reform in more than two decades, the state's hospitals may end up looking worryingly similar to the way they do now. Politics...
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CoAG deal on health reform
21/04/201020 April 2010. What does it mean for Victoria? The Commonwealth will add an extra $890 million for Victoria over four years. This is an increase 1% a year, from 41% to 44%. The extra funds will begin flowing in July this year The states will manage the...
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CoAG agreement must deliver better deal for Victorian patients (op ed)
20/04/201020 April 2010. The Premiers are back for another day of negotiations to try to come to an agreement with the Prime Minister on the funding structure of the biggest health reform process of the past two decades. With the showdown between Premier Brumby and...
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Health reform too important to get wrong
18/04/201018 April 2010. AMA Victoria today recommended that Victorian Premier John Brumby not sign up to the Commonwealth’s health reform package at the Council of Australian Governments meeting until it includes extra funds to increase bed capacity in Victoria’s...
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AMA Victoria to hear Gippsland doctors’ concerns
16/04/201016 April 2010 AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley will meet with local doctors in Gippsland on Monday and Tuesday (19 & 20 April) to hear their concerns about healthcare in the region and discuss the Commonwealth’s health reform plan. Dr Hemley...
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Doctors urge caution on roads over Easter
01/04/2010Doctors urge caution on roads over Easter 01 April 2010 AMA Victoria Vice President and emergency physician Dr Stephen Parnis has urged Victorian motorists to take care on the roads over Easter and avoid fatigue by stopping for regular breaks. "If you...
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Rudd playing blame game on health (Medical Observer, opinion)
29/03/201026 March 2010. By Dr Stephen Parnis. In 2007, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he wanted to “end the blame game” on health. On 3 March 2010, he released his blueprint for hospital reform. Last week, he debated Opposition Leader Tony Abbott at the National...
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Bed boost vital to support population increase
26/03/201026 March 2010. Victoria’s public hospitals are struggling to cope with the state’s population increase and urgently need additional hospital beds to ensure all Victorians have timely access to care, says AMA Victoria. Australian Bureau of Statistics...
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Health debate verdict (The Age, opinion)
24/03/201024 March 10. Harry Hemley, AMA Victoria: The Prime Minsiter won the debate but left many questions unanswered. How does he plan to improve general practice, prevention, IT, mental health and aged care? We already have casemix funding and local boards so...
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Rural hospital protection more likely after PM announcement
23/03/201023 March 10. AMA Victoria welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement today that he was willing to consider changing his National Health and Hospitals Network plan to protect 44 small Victorian hospitals. At the National Press Club today, Mr Rudd said,...
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Rudd vs Abbott (ABC's The Drum Wrap, opinion)
23/03/201023 February 2010. Dr Harry Hemley, President of the Victorian Branch of the Australian Medical Association: The Prime Minister won the debate but left many questions unanswered. How does he plan to improve general practice, prevention, IT, mental health and...
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Victoria deserves compensation on health reform
16/03/201016 March 2010. The Victorian public hospital system should receive $1.5 billion of infrastructure grants in compensation for state funding inequities under the Prime Minister’s proposed hospital reform plan, says AMA Victoria. Under the Federal Government’s...
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Here’s a tip for improving health with a politically popular tax (Croakey, opinion editorial)
15/03/201015 March 2010. It seems increasingly unlikely that the PM’s grand plans for hospital reform will lead to meaningful changes anytime soon. In the meantime, there is plenty the Government could be doing to improve the community’s health, argues Dr...
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Health reform threatens rural hospitals
12/03/201012 March 2010. The Federal Government’s plan to abandon block-grant funding and introduce activity-based funding for Victoria’s rural hospitals would threaten their viability, according to AMA Victoria. AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said...
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Time to discuss organ donation
21/02/201021 February 2010. Doctors today urged Victorians to learn more about how they can save lives through organ donation and discuss their decision about becoming an organ donor with their family. "Australian Organ Donation Awareness Week, which begins today,...
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A proposal for improving casemix funding, Victorian-style (Croakey, opinion editorial)
17/02/201016 February 2010. While we’re on the subject of hospitals, and how to fund and run them, Dr Harry Hemley has some suggestions for improving Victoria’s casemix funding that he believes may have application nationally. Hemley, a GP in Melbourne and...
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Jennings warns men to be vigilant about their health - from the Minister for Environment & Climate Change
14/02/201014 February 2010. Having recently returned to work after suffering a heart attack, Environment, Climate Change and Innovation Minister Gavin Jennings today urged middle-aged men to be aware that no matter how healthy they think they are, they should have regular...
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GP sick parade getting longer (Geelong Advertiser, opinion editorial)
12/02/201012 February. By Dr Harry Hemley. Gaining timely access to a GP when you are sick has been problem for Geelong and the surf coast for more than a decade and new data suggests it could get a lot worse. In a recent survey, more than one third of country GPs told...
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Good medicine for the bush (Ballarat Courier, opinion editorial)
12/02/201012 February 2010. By Dr Harry Hemley. Gaining timely access to a GP when you are sick has been problem for the Ballarat and district community for more than a decade and new data suggests it could get a lot worse. In a recent survey, more than one third of...
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Rural GPs sick and tired (Shepparton News, opinion editorial)
11/02/201011 February 2010. By Dr Harry Hemley. Gaining timely access to a GP when you are sick has been problem for the Goulburn Valley community for more than a decade and new data suggests it could get a lot worse. In a recent survey, more than one third of country...
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Country Victoria needs medical workforce rescue plan
08/02/201008 February 2010. Rural Victoria could lose one third of its medical workforce unless the Victorian Government funds a rural medical workforce rescue package in the May budget, says AMA Victoria. A recent AMA Victoria survey found that 37 per cent of GPs who...
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A popular tax?
31/01/201031 January 2010. By Dr Harry Hemley The conventional wisdom is that any Treasurer who raises taxes on beer and smokes is dead meat politically. While this wisdom may still hold for alcohol, increased taxes on cigarettes is now a political winner — possibly...
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Death and taxes (Sunday Herald Sun, letter to the editor)
31/01/201031 January 2010. Conventional wisdom is that a treasurer who raises taxes on beer and smokes is dead meat politically. This may hold for alcohol, but increased taxes on cigarettes is now a political winner. When voters punished governments for increasing the...
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Doctors welcome new Parliamentary Secretary for Health
20/01/201020 January 2010. AMA Victoria today welcomed the appointment of Ms Janice Munt as Victoria’s new Parliamentary Secretary for Health. Dr Stephen Parnis, AMA Victoria Vice President, said the timing of Ms Munt’s appointment was particularly important,...
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New doctors for Victoria’s public hospitals
13/01/201013 January 2010. AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley today welcomed Victoria’s 557 new doctors to the public hospital system. Dr Hemley congratulated the new interns on the transition from medical school to the public hospital system and said the...
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Cooling subsidies needed to protect elderly in heat
11/01/201011 January 2010. AMA Victoria today called on the Brumby Government to protect the elderly against heat-related illness and death by subsidising the cost of cooling aids such as air conditioners for Victorians aged over 75. The $37 million proposal would see...
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Health precautions in the heat
09/01/201009 January 2010. Temperatures across the state are expected to soar over the next few days and doctors are urging Victorians to take precautions to avoid heat exhaustion and dehydration. AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley said Victorians may need to modify...
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