State Health Incident Coordinator Dr Robyn Lawrence has advised that Western Australia has plenty of PPE in warehouses. However AMA (WA) President Dr Andrew Miller believes government guidelines are lacking.

“The guidelines do not allow for proper respiratory protection to prevent airborne spread of COVID, which everyone now accepts is real for people dealing with suspected or likely or confirmed COVID,” Dr Miller said.

“The West Australian government needs to turn around and say that we will provide respiratory level protection for anybody having contact with patients who have COVID or who might have COVID.

“So, for example, if you work in a COVID clinic you should be fit-tested for a proper respiratory mask, be given goggles and other protection including a suit or a gown and gloves to stop you from catching COVID particularly the B117 variant.”

Dr Miller says the government is not addressing airborne spread and not looking after healthcare workers.

“As we demonstrated recently, we can’t test efficiently all the people in WA who came in from New South Wales," he said. "Forget the West Australian population. We can’t even test the visitors.

“How are we going to cope if suddenly we have an outbreak and we have to test the whole of the northern suburbs? We don’t have the capacity to do that at the moment."

In the run-up to the 2021 State Election and in the midst of a global pandemic, health should be everyone’s top priority. WA’s health system is our most important public asset, and its strength and effective function is entirely dependent on its workforce.

The AMA (WA) is alarmed that issues within the healthcare system are not being addressed. Consider these facts:

• WA’s public hospitals are in crisis due to the lack of a permanent clinical workforce.
• In the last four years, ambulance ramping has increased by 379 per cent.
• WA’s suicide rate exceeds the national average by 21 per cent, an indicator that something is lacking in our mental health system. 
• We are asking for at least another 100 hospital beds in addition to the 77 new mental health beds at Joondalup Health Campus’ ED. 
• WA has the lowest regional hospital bed capacity compared to other states in Australia. 

We also want a fair go for Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) doctors and GPs in public hospitals who should be be recognised as specialists.

The AMA (WA) has sent the 2021 State Election Priorities document to all members of parliament. We want all political parties to commit to address these issues in the next parliamentary term – for the sake of our State’s health.

Are you a doctor in training (DiT)? Interested in having a say on the future of the medical profession? Come along to the first DiT committee meeting of 2021, Monday 8 February 6.30pm.

We welcome new members and provide dinner for you. You can attend in person at the AMA (WA) office, 10 Stirling Highway Nedlands, or via Zoom. Please RSVP to dit@amawa.com.au for catering purposes.

Use the button below to join the Zoom meeting.
Meeting ID: 882 6042 2281
Passcode: 004140

Keep an eye out for our Intern Forums coming up in late February through to March. You’ll get the nitty gritty on payslips, leave entitlements and common workplace relations issues, as well as drinks and the opportunity to network.

You’ll also get the chance to ask AMA (WA) President Dr Andrew Miller and CEO Dr Bennie Ng anything you like.

Email Lisette.Jones@amawa.com.au for more information.

The Australian College for Emergency Medicine is holding the 1300 HANDOC comprehensive hand injury seminar on Saturday 13 February. Earn CPD points and learn more about acute hand injuries.

This two-day bootcamp helps you apply the Stanford Biodesign methodology to better understand how to identify clinical needs and create solutions. AMA (WA) members get a discount.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to new cyber threats, more phishing and an explosion in online fraud. With more people working from home, firms should be especially vigilant when it comes to protecting their operations and their staff from cyber threats. Businesses need to have the latest security requirements. 

This summary report provides an overview of key statistics on how Indigenous Australians are faring. Outcomes have improved for a number of measures – the rate of cardiovascular disease has decreased and education has improved – but there has been little change for some measures and some measures have worsened.