With daily reminders of the world of pain NSW finds itself in, why do we find the State's COVID management measures, and our public hospital system generally, teetering on a knife edge?

Your Advocacy and Policy team have been busy this month advocating for members and the medical profession as a whole. Below were the following submissions sent:

Establishing an Office for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence.

Statutory Review of the Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation Act 2016 (WA)

On 16 June 2021 the Fair Work Commission Minimum Wage Panel handed down its Annual Wage Review, awarding an increase of 2.5% to the minimum salary rates contained in all Modern Awards.

The AMA (WA) Private Practice Bulletins have been updated and the full schedule is now available to download through the member portal.  

Please help Dr Con Phatouros, Dr Brendan McQuillan, Dr Niall Henry and Dr Andrew Thompson to reach their target of $8,000 and donate to this worthy cause.

25 years ago, Dr Brian Gilbert, a GP in North Adelaide, wrote a Letter to the Editor of the SA Medical Review, which was reproduced in Medicus.

The article shared Dr Gilbert's frustrations with the 1996 bulk-billing system and the steps he took to minimise his practice's economic losses, without sacrificing service quality.

Date:     Friday 10 September 2021

Time:     6.00pm : Registration
              6.20pm : Game-on
              7.30pm : Networking function

Venue:   Holey Moley Northbridge
              53 Lake Street, Northbridge WA 6003

Date:     Thursday 11 November 2021

Time:     5.30pm : Registration and refreshments
              6.00pm - 7.00pm : Seminar and Q&A

Venue:   Australian Medical Association (WA)
              10 Stirling Hwy, Nedlands WA 6009

Date:  Saturday 31 July 2021

Time:  10.00am to 3.30pm (AEST)

View the conference welcome from Federal AMA President Dr Omar Khorshid.

With over 360,000 aged care staff around Australia,  Aged Care Employee Day celebrates each and every team member involved in the journey of caring for people who receive aged care services. 

This includes nurses and care workers, allied health professionals, hospitality teams, drivers, cleaners, volunteers, lifestyle officers, administration staff, plus many more.

There are a number of initiatives to help celebrate Australia's aged care workforce. Visit the website via the button below.

The AMA (WA) has united with peak public health and medical experts across WA in their call to end the sponsorship of sport by junk food companies. This follows a global junk food giant being named the official ‘Worldwide Olympic Partner’ of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

If you haven't already had a Medicus catch-up, here's your chance. Our July edition is open to both AMA (WA) members and non-members, so you can read all about newly elected AMA (WA) President Dr Mark Duncan-Smith.

Our cover story this month looks at Dr Duncan-Smith’s career, why he chose Surgery over Psychiatry, and his plans for the AMA (WA) going forward.

Mental health receives a healthy focus in this edition too, with Professor Martin Chapman and Dr Anne O’Sullivan’s articles on the issue a sobering yet enlightening read.

Of course, don’t miss our coverage of MEDCON21 and the AMA (WA) Gala Ball and Awards Night – all the highlights and the happy snaps!