AMA Omicron warnings ‘not scaremongering’ SA Covid probe hears

SA’s shambolic reopening should serve as a warning on the dangers of writing off doctors’ advice, a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s pandemic effort has heard.

The fallout from opening South Australia’s borders should serve as a lesson to the state government that it should stop viewing the Australian Medical Association’s advice as “scaremongering,” the peak medical body says.

AMA SA president Dr Michelle Atchison fronted a parliamentary inquiry into SA’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic on Tuesday, saying the AMA wanted the borders temporarily closed just days after they opened on November 23.

She said this would have given authorities time to better understand the new Omicron variant.

The opinion echoed that of SA Health chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier, who at the time also recommended closing borders as the most risk averse approach the state could take.

AMA SA branch president Dr Michelle Atchison. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

The government ultimately decided to keep the state open.

“If the government could learn one thing out of this it’s perhaps listening to that health advice and taking it seriously and not seeing us as scaremongering; that we actually are doing that for good health reasons,” Dr Atchison said.

However, she said now that Omicron was “everywhere” there was no need to close borders at this point.

Dr Atchison went on to outline the consequences of opening the borders on November 23.

“We don’t have enough ambulances; we have ramping; we have mental health patients who can’t find support and who become pawns in the ambulance ramping admission crisis,” she said.

“We have health practitioners who are exhausted and … overworked … including doctors and nurses who are working unsustainable hours in PPE without breaks and replacements and back-up.”

AMA federal branch vice-president, and immediate past president of the SA branch, Dr Chris Moy stressed the importance of adequately funding the health system, saying “you need a healthy community to have a healthy economy”.

“If you don’t have a healthy workforce, they’re not at work and then you end up with trouble, so health is an investment, not necessarily a cost item,” he said.

Dr Moy also said SA’s response to Covid had been better than that of other jurisdictions, stating he had “certainly been much happier about what’s been happening here than in other states”.