Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on this government's failures when it comes to health care. Australia is fortunate to have one of the strongest healthcare systems in the world, and that's a system that's been built and strengthened through the efforts of both sides of politics. But what good is a strong system if people in my community can't access the care when they need it? During the last election campaign, the Prime Minister promised more than 71 times that visits to a family doctor would be free, but the reality in my community tells a very different story.

Across the southern Gold Coast, bulk-billing rates have fallen by 12 per cent under this government, and the reason for that is quite simple. It's increasingly not financially viable. GPS across my community are incredibly committed to providing the best possible care for their patients, but, like any small business, they must also keep their doors open. The costs of medical supplies, subscriptions, software, rents, electricity, insurance, staff and taxes continue to rise, and, as a local doctor told me, there's no billable item in the Medicare rebates for those expenses. When the numbers simply don't add up, practices are forced to make difficult decisions just to stay viable.

I recently saw a letter written by a Labor member of this House to a local GP practice which read: 'My constituents have shared their disappointment that your practice is currently not a fully bulk-billing clinic. I encourage you to move towards a 100 per cent bulk-billing model as it would better serve the community.' With respect, that is not health policy. An instructive letter does not reduce the cost of running a medical practice. Good policy does.

Local doctors in my community have explained the realities that they face under the current system. Under the current bulk-billing model. Many described the pressure to deliver what they call six-minute medicine. This means shorter consultations, higher patient volumes and, in some cases, quick fixes even when a patient's condition requires more time and careful investigation. Take something as simple as high blood pressure. A doctor could spend two minutes writing a prescription and move on to the next patient, but a thorough GP will take the time to investigate underlying causes, risk review factors and ensure that nothing serious is missed.

The problem is that, under the current system, the doctor who takes 15 minutes to properly investigate the issue may receive the same or even less than the one who rushes through it. As one local GP put it to me, the thorough doctor becomes the poor doctor, and that is the wrong incentive to build into our healthcare system. Our healthcare system should support careful, high-quality care, not rushed appointments and treating patients like numbers. If this government wants to truly restore bulk-billing, it needs to stop writing letters and start delivering the policy settings that make quality general practice sustainable. Because, as we all know, when GP practices cannot survive, it is our communities who ultimately pay the price.