RDA President
Dr Ian Kamerman Ph 0488 732 679
Press Releases
RDAA Press Release: 6 month wait for rural GP consults demonstrates need for urgent action
More than 52% of rural Australians are waiting 1 or more weeks ˜with 18% waiting more than 3 weeks and some waiting up to 6 months˜ for a routine appointment with their GP, while others are being forced to attend Accident and Emergency units at distant hospitals for basic consults, interim results from a national survey of rural health consumers have revealed.
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RDAA Press Release: Rural Aussies urged to SHOUT! as pollies give health the silent treatment
The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) is urging rural communities across Australia to hold decibel-breaking public meetings‚ in the closing weeks of the federal election campaign to show how concerned they are with poor access to local health services and the worsening shortage of rural health professionals.
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RDAA Press Release: Low cost rural doctor training should be a ‘no brainer’ for Labor
The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) says federal Labor would be ‘extremely foolish’ not to unveil a National Rural Generalist Training Pathway at its official campaign launch next Monday, given the Pathway would deliver many more well-trained doctors to rural Australia at virtually no additional cost.
“This really is no brainer stuff” RDAA President, Dr Nola Maxfield, said.
RDAA Press Release: Rural health ignored by Coalition
In their campaign launch on Sunday, the Coalition again demonstrated their disinterest in the welfare of rural Australians, with no move to fix the rural health system in their election platform.
“No one is ticking the boxes on rural health this election,” said Nola Maxfield, President of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA).
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RDAA Press Release: 12,500 rural Australians needlessly dead
Since the federal election three years ago, 12,500 rural Australians have died preventable deaths as a result of poor access to healthcare services 4,600 each year*.
The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) has called on the parties to get their priorities right this election and focus on improving access to healthcare for the seven million Australians who live in the bush.
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RDAA Press Release: Coalition rural health policy way off-target
The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) has slammed the new rural health policy proposed today by the Coalition saying it shows a complete lack of understanding of the issues affecting rural health.
RDAA President, Dr Nola Maxfield, said that this proposed policy will do nothing to address the health inequities presently suffered by rural Australians and improve rural people’s access to local health services.
RDAA Press Release: Broadband superhighway to where?
The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) has criticised the idea that the expansion of the National Broadband Network (NBN) will help rural Australians access specialist health care, as most Medicare consultations don’t allow video conferencing.
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RDAA Press Release: Rural doctors welcome additional mental health funding
The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) has welcomed today’s announcement by Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon of additional funding for mental health services, saying it will help increase access to mental healthcare for rural and remote Australians.
“Access to care for depression, anxiety and other mental health concerns is a big issue in the bush” RDAA CEO, Steve Sant, said.
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RDAA Press Release: Labors emergency specialists measure will miss the mark in the bush
The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) says todays announcement by Prime Minister Julia Gillard to deliver more emergency medicine specialists to outer metropolitan and regional hospitals will do little to improve access to emergency care further out in rural and remote Australia.
RDAA Press Release: Rural doctors call for ‘a fair shake of the sauce bottle’ this election
The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) is calling on all parties contesting the federal election to commit to provide rural communities with their fair share of health funding to improve local access to healthcare in the bush.
Releasing RDAA‟s Federal Election Position Statement 2010, RDAA President Dr Nola Maxfield said over the past three years the Rudd/Gillard Government had been busy shaking up the health system but rural doctors hardly got a dribble of extra funding.