With the GP co-payment plan stalled in the Senate, new revelations about what the NSW government thinks might be the consequences for local hospitals if it does finally get the support of the crossbench parties are truly alarming.
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The possibility of Shoalhaven and Illawarra emergency departments being swamped with an additional 38,000 patients – a figure based on a projected $6 co-payment – would be disastrous, especially for our hospital at Nowra, which can struggle at the best of times.
In a socioeconomically challenged region such as ours, where for many families a $7 co-payment is a disincentive to seek treatment, there are other possibly serious consequences. One of these was highlighted on Friday by Bruce Murphy, a founding member of the Shoalhaven Suicide Prevention Network.
Speaking on radio 2ST, Mr Murphy was highlighting the need for people suffering from anxiety and depression to seek help earlier rather than later. This meant getting in to see the local GP and getting referrals to a psychologist. Mr Murphy agreed that the co-payment could stand in the way of people doing just that. For many lonely and marginalised people in the community, the local GP is often one of the few people available to listen to their problems and offer advice.
Gilmore MP Ann Sudmalis is correct when she says that for some people the co-payment would not be an issue but for others it would.
Mrs Sudmalis gives the plan a 50-50 chance of getting up. Certainly, if the NSW government showed more mettle in standing up to its Coalition colleagues in Canberra, those odds would lengthen and that would mean a healthier health system in the Shoalhaven.
