Government Ignores Productivity Commission Recommendations

HypnosisAustralia, November 2006

By Dr Tracie O'Keefe DCH, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Psychotherapist & Counsellor
Editorial Director of HypnosisAustralia Online.

The Productivity Commission's report into healthcare provision entitled 'Australia's Health Workforce' was published in December 2005 and available in January 2006. It contained key recommendations that many of the services only supplied through Medicare via medical doctors could be efficiently outsourced to other healthcare-trained professionals. It was suggested by the report that this could save the government millions of dollars and widen the viability of healthcare to the general public.

One of the key points coming out of the report was that people might be able to access healthcare professionals' services paid for by Medicare without having to go through a GP. This policy could have had major implications in helping aid the presently distressed and also mostly collapsing mental healthcare system. With hypnotherapy being one of the fastest ways to treat people with non-psychotic mental health problems it could have greatly eased the burden on the mental healthcare system. Counsellors, psychotherapists, nurses, psychologists and other mental healthcare professions could have eased the problem of lack of psychiatrists in Australia.

After heavy lobbying and pressure from the medical profession the Australian Council of Governments caved in July 2006 and admitted it was going to ignore the recommendations of the report. This is crushing blow for the Australian healthcare system that incurred great costs each year, a future of more costly treatments for retired baby boomers, and a sea of retiring nurses who are barely being replaced by new trainees.

The medical profession has a stranglehold on the Medicare coffers in Australia which can mean high costs through long-term drugs and medical procedures. Australia is not keeping up with the way in which healthcare is more diversified in many other parts of the world and particularly in country and bush areas the public will pay the price of poor mental healthcare provision and planning. The Howard government's policies of staying with a sinking boat means that our mental health system instead of improving with time lays waste to the policy of best practice.

©HypnosisAustralia, November 2006