Doctors savage North Qld pharmacy pilot as patients go waiting for GPs
A medical turf war is being battled across North Queensland with doctors and pharmacists lobbing up grenades as they compete for market share and patient safety.
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A MEDICAL turf war is being battled across North Queensland with doctors and pharmacists lobbing new grenades as they compete for market share and patient safety.
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has released new research finding more than a third of vulnerable minorities in North Queensland have had to go to emergency due to a lack of general practitioner access.
The research followed serious claims from the other side.
Cairns GP Dr Aileen Traves has urged the federal government to end a planned North Queensland pilot program that would empower pharmacists to diagnose and treat more than 20 serious conditions like heart problems and asthma.
She said potentially deadly complications had already been seen in patients under another pilot program allowing pharmacists to diagnose and treat urinary tract infections.
“What we are seeing is ‘unconscious incompetence’ where without the proper medical training there would be zero thought of what could go wrong,” she said.
Pharmacy Guild of Australia Queensland vice president Amanda Seeto said evidence had been mounting for years in support of the pilot.
“The research clearly shows that North Queensland patients need better access to primary healthcare,” she said.
“Nearly four in 10 respondents agreed that they were waiting an unacceptable length of time just to secure a GP appointment.
“Alarmingly, more than a quarter of North Queenslander participants have had to visit an emergency department due to lack of GP access.
“This fact alone places enormous stress on our emergency departments and hospitals.”
The research found more than two-thirds of participants did not regularly visit their GP, with 35 per cent visiting less than every six months.
“The reason? Often more than a third are waiting over a week for an appointment,” Ms Seeto said.
“Of particular concern are women aged 35-54.
“Two-thirds of women in this age group are concerned about wait times and have had to go to emergency because they couldn’t see a GP.
“Fortunately, these women have had access to immediate advice and treatment for uncomplicated urinary tract infections for the past 18 months through many participating Queensland community pharmacies.”
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Australian Medical Association Queensland recently resigned from the steering committee behind the pilot program in protest over patient safety concerns.
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Originally published as Doctors savage North Qld pharmacy pilot as patients go waiting for GPs
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