DOCTORS and nurses are not being given priority access on Bruny Island ferries — forcing much-needed medical appointments to be delayed. Community concerns have been raised over doctors’ appointments having to be rescheduled because doctors were unable to get on the morning ferries. SeaLink, operator of the ferry service from Kettering to Bruny Island, said it was aware of the issue, which happened when services … Continue reading Lack of priority access for doctors on Bruny Island ferries is delaying appointments and causing concern

BRUNY Island will finally have consistent access to general practitioners and comprehensive primary healthcare — and it will be led by one of Tasmania’s top doctors. Former Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Bastian Seidel’s Huon Medical Group has signed a 10-year contract to deliver GP services to Bruny Island. The agreement will deliver face-to-face consultations on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with telehealth services … Continue reading Huon Medical Group signs contract for GP services on Bruny Island

Lainie Hurle says accessing a GP on Tasmania’s remote west coast is “almost impossible”. She and her disabled son had to endure nine months of two-hour trips along the winding Murchison Highway to Burnie’s North-West Regional Hospital before he was diagnosed with arthritis. Key points: West coast residents are dying younger because of medical shortages Tasmanians have second-lowest life expectancy Patients are bypassing GPs for … Continue reading GPs call for radical rethink of health funding in Tasmania to ease pressure on state’s hospitals

DR Bastian Seidel has learnt croissants do not travel well on his bicycle. The Huonville GP, who completes his two-year presidency of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners today, often rides to work from his Mountain River home. But not on Saturdays, when he travels by car so his colleagues receive their pastries intact from the Summer Kitchen Bakery at Ranelagh. Taking his car … Continue reading Cafe Society: Community care the key for our health

Tasmania should follow South Australia’s lead and fund free vaccinations for type B meningococcal disease, a national GP body says. A second case of meningococcal disease was confirmed on Saturday, two days after the bacterial disease claimed the life of a 16-year-old girl on Thursday. A 20-year-old man is being treated for a meningococcal infection at Royal Hobart Hospital, and is in a stable condition. Authorities … Continue reading Meningococcal vaccination program needs to be wider in Tasmania: GP body

Health workers who responded to the Port Arthur massacre are calling on the Tasmanian Government to abandon its proposal to water down gun laws. The Liberals’ policy to weaken Tasmania’s gun laws was revealed in the media on the eve of the March state election. The Government promised changes to gun laws that would allow greater access to Category C firearms — such as self-loading rifles, pump-action … Continue reading Port Arthur massacre health workers call on Tasmanian Government not to weaken gun laws

Doctors and refugee groups have called on the Australian Government to act urgently on coronial recommendations for better health care for asylum seekers in Australia’s offshore detention facilities – including that decisions about medical transfers to Australia be guided by “clinical considerations” rather than “bureaucratic and political imperatives”. Health groups, including the Royal Australian College of GPs, have repeated long-standing calls for independent oversight of … Continue reading Health groups urge action from coronial inquiry into death of Manus detainee Hamid Khazaei

The website used to make reports about child abuse and neglect in Tasmania appears to have been made secure just hours after an ABC report raised concerns information about the state’s most vulnerable children and those who make notifications has been at risk for years. Electronic notifications of child abuse can be made to Child Protection Tasmania via a form on a Department of Health and … Continue reading Doctors alarmed by unsecured Child Protection Tasmania website

FRONTLINE medical professionals will today demand the State Government strengthen rather than water down gun laws, with submissions to an inquiry into the proposed changes closing this week. Representatives from across the medical professions will front the media to send a message to the Liberal Government that the post-Port Arthur laws work and changes promised to gun users breach the National Firearms Agreement (NFA). A … Continue reading Medical groups urge Hodgman Government in fight against proposed gun law changes

Doctors are urging all Tasmanians aged between six weeks and 20 years to get free meningococcal vaccines. Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Bastian Seidel commended Health Minister Michael Ferguson’s decision to expand the government’s vaccine program after the fifth confirmed case of meningococcal disease. “The message is simple –  if you are older than six weeks and under 21 go to your GP and get your vaccine,” … Continue reading More free vaccines to be rolled out