Mediator steps in over Medicare Local rivalry
Tensions are rising between two consortiums, the South West Sydney Health Coalition (SWSHC) and the Macarthur and Southern Highlands Divisions who have both submitted bids to form a Medicare Local covering the city’s south west region and beyond.
The Federal government’s controversial planned boundaries for the new primary health care organisations means it will be one of the biggest Medicare Locals in the country.
The SWSHC, which includes the Bankstown GP Division, released a statement claiming the Macarthur and Southern Highlands Divisions had been making “certain assertions” over who is going to win the bid.
And CEO of the Bankstown GP Division, Andrey Zheluk, told 6minutes they had been in discussions with the independent mediator on how to resolve the tensions.
“This is what happens when you try and bring together independent organisations,” he said.
“It is not unique to south west Sydney as there are similar problems going on across Australia. But we have been brought together by a government policy and we have to make the best of it.”
The CEO of Southern Highlands Division, Dr Warwick Ruscoe, was contacted by 6minutes but he refused to comment." http://www.6minutes.com.au/
This article is the compelling reason why there needs to be a community response to the inaction and obfuscation of the CEO of the Southern Highlands Division of General Practice - a refusal to comment! When it comes down to the wire the only benefit that the health consumers of the Southern Highlands will obtain is when they agitate, advocate and become activists, for themselves and on behalf of their community.
Take note of what the South West Sydney Health Coalition (SWSHC) and the Bankstown GP Division have been able to achieve while the CEO of the Southern Highlands Division of General Practice has been colluding with his counterpart in the Macarthur Division of General Practice to see how much of the Federally-funded financial pie they can each consume.
In my study of the history of the Age of Enlightenment the above scenario reminds me of the time when the world was divided into two - with what the King of Spain and the King of Portugal each considered to be part of their kingdoms - the Divisions of the Southern Highlands and Macarthur should take a lesson in history and take note of what a relatively small kingdom can do to the expansionist plans of others. The rise of England as a significant power saw the demise of both Spain and Portugal and led to the maps of the world being changed for centuries to come.
So also can it be that a people revolt in the Southern Highlands and the SWS Health Coalition's area of interest can sink the ambitions of the entrepreneurs in both the Southern Highlands and Macarthur Divisions of General Practice!
Write letters of support for the application bid for the SWS Health Coalition to enable them to manage the Medicare Local that will incorporate the Southern Highlands community.
Central DoH&A Office postal address:
Department of Health & Ageing
(Medicare Locals)
GPO Box 9848,
Canberra ACT 2601, Australia
