A delegation of Western Australian GPs will descend on the WA Parliament today, offering politicians health checks for both themselves and the state's healthcare system, and solutions to its challenges.
The seven-GP delegation, representing the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP), will provide state representatives with risk assessments for diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol and call for measures to improve access to general practice which will help reduce ambulance ramping and hospitalisations.
The GPs are calling for four key measures:
- Reduce hospital readmissions by incentivising a GP consult within a week of a patient leaving hospital: Research shows visiting a specialist GP shortly after an unplanned hospital admission can reduce readmissions by up to 32%
- Allow more Western Australians to receive non-urgent, routine care from their GP after hours: Funding to cover extra costs including staffing would allow more WA patients to see their GP when they need to
- Provide free access to lifesaving funding RSV and Meningococcal B vaccines: Covering patients' costs for these vaccines will save lives and mitigate other healthcare costs
- Appoint a Chief GP Advisor: Improving hospital and primary care collaboration will break down healthcare silos, improve patient outcomes, and reduce hospital admissions
RACGP WA Chair and Vice President Dr Ramya Raman said GPs want to help solve WA's healthcare challenges.
"There are issues across the health system, but with relatively small investments, WA's GPs can alleviate a lot of the challenges in our hospitals," she said.
"Ambulance ramping is a challenge, for example, but there's evidence that GPs are the solution. Too many patients are hospitalised, discharged, then readmitted soon after.
"This year, patients arriving at WA hospitals by ambulance waited more than 30 minutes to be received – what's called 'ambulance ramping' – for more than 7000 hours in July, August, and September, three months in a row.
"Health data shows when a patient has had an unplanned hospital admission, their chance of being readmitted is significantly lower if they see a GP soon after. Up to one in seven hospital discharges results in an unplanned readmission within 28 days.
"Imagine how much extra hospital capacity we would have if we reduced readmissions by giving more people access to follow-up care from a GP who knows them, not to mention how much stress we could save patients and families.
"Encouraging patients to see a GP within a week of discharge from an unplanned hospital admission would reduce preventable hospitalisations, improve outcomes, and ease pressure on the hospital system.
"With adequate funding, practices can also help by staying open later. There were 350,000 potentially avoidable presentations to emergency departments for issues that could have been managed by GPs last year, and 60% of people have accessed after-hours care in the last five years.
"Introducing After-Hours GP Grants would offset the extra costs for staying open and mean more of our patients can see their GP on weeknights and weekends, especially for essential, but non-urgent, appointments.
"Our healthcare system can work better; it's just a matter of putting systems in place. The WA Government is responsible for hospitals, and the Federal Government for primary care. That results in a siloed system with missed opportunities for patients to access the right care at the right time.
"Appointing a Chief GP Advisor would help the WA Government identify local opportunities to make our health system more effective, efficient, and patient-centred.
"Our message is that GPs can reduce pressure on the rest of the system."
Dr Raman also reiterated calls to protect Western Australians against deadly meningococcal B infections and to reduce the impact of RSV by making those vaccines free for more patients.
"Meningococcal B is no less deadly than strains for which vaccination is free," she said.
"Yet families face a prohibitive cost of around $200 a dose for a MenB vaccine. South Australia's publicly funded vaccination program cut Meningococcal B rates among babies by 73%, and by 76% amongst adolescents.
"This is a disease that can result in death within a day or two of symptoms appearing, or lifelong disability. Everyone deserves to be protected.
"RSV remains a serious risk for vulnerable adults, especially seniors. Vaccination is recommended for everyone aged 75 or older, or over 60 for those with risk factors. Your GP can provide that, but it's a significant out-of-pocket cost for many vulnerable patients.
"The WA Government led the way by becoming the first state to provide infants with free protection against RSV, and this is an opportunity to build on that leadership by extending protection for other vulnerable groups."
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