OPINION – ALI CUPPER
The program expands the role of paramedics to include some of the basic functions of a GP. It is designed to be a convenient stop-gap for small towns where the task of finding a permanent GP can take some time. And it’s receiving rave reviews.
The Paramedic Community Support Coordinator appointed to take part in the trial in Ouyen has been instrumental in reducing the amount of unnecessary patient transfers to Mildura.
It has meant patients have been spared the inconvenience of an hours-long round trip for relatively minor medical needs. This has been especially beneficial to vulnerable patients such as children or elderly people for whom extended travel can be difficult.
Our small towns don’t expect the world. They know that there are limitations to what can be provided in remote locations with small populations. But what they do expect – quite rightly – is a basic minimum standard of service, especially when it comes to health care.
Community-based health services like Mallee Track Health and Community Service do an extraordinary job, and do everything possible to recruit permanent GPs, but it’s a tough market. And when that market fails, the government must find a way. That’s why the APRIP program is so important – because it works.
And that’s why I will be fighting to have it extended in Ouyen beyond June 30 and why I will be fighting to have the program expanded to other small towns in our electorate, starting with Robinvale.
The APRIP program is another important piece of the local health care revolution that has already returned Mildura Base Hospital to public hands and will hopefully deliver other major wins before the year is out, including a new, world-class public hospital building with an integrated academic health precinct to help attract and retain our future health care workforce.
