Sixty-day dispensing may sound good, but if you dig a little deeper, it is rural and regional Australia that will pay, writes Trent Twomey of the Pharmacy Guild.

“I fear patients won’t realise the true impact of 60-day dispensing until the pharmacy they’ve got, is gone. And by then it will be too late,” said Trent.

An independent report published recently by respected economist Henry Ergas AO, along with Tulipwood Advisory and the Relational Insights Data Lab at Griffith University has revealed the policy will lead to the loss of 20,818 community pharmacy jobs and the closure of 665 pharmacies nationwide.

Soon regional patients will feel the effect with cuts to free services such as blood pressure monitoring, diabetes management, websters packs for the aged and home delivery of medicines.

These are all services which the current dispensing arrangement helps pay for and keeps your local pharmacy‘s doors open for longer.

Unless the government delays the implementation of 60-day dispensing, as has been recommended, you will be seeing more of these cuts and closures from September when the policy is in place.

Do you travel long distances for specialised healthcare?

If you travel more than 100km one way, or 200km in a week, for specialised treatment that is not available locally, you can claim financial assistance towards travel and accommodation costs.

The Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS) is designed to support patients from rural and regional NSW when they need it most.

People who travel to places like Sydney or Canberra for treatment can benefit from the extra assistance provided by the IPTAAS scheme.

Increased subsidies for travel and accommodation are now available for appointments or treatment. Patients attending high-risk foot clinics, non-commercial clinical trials, highly specialised publicly funded oral health clinics in NSW and ocularists are now also eligible to claim.

If your travels for specialist medical treatment have been impacted by the recent flooding situation in NSW, please contact the IPTAAS team to talk about your individual situation and how we may be able to assist you with your IPTAAS application.

To find out if you are eligible, ask your social worker or healthcare team, call 1800 478 227 or visit: www.iptaas.health.nsw.gov.au

Recent reports from Lifeblood confirm an alarmingly low (3.5 per cent) number of Australians regularly donate blood, prompting the Leukaemia Foundation and Australian Red Cross Lifeblood to join forces to urge Australians to roll up their sleeves and make life-saving blood donations this World Blood Donor Day on 14th June. 

With one third of all red blood cell donations nationally going to cancer patients, the Leukaemia Foundation’s CEO Chris Tanti said increasing the number of Australians donating by a mere 1.5 per cent, will make a monumental difference to blood cancer patients across the country. 

“53 Australians are diagnosed with blood cancer every day, and this number is predicted to double by 2035. Consequently, the number of blood donations required to support blood cancer patients will also double,” explained Mr Tanti. 

“3.5 per cent of Australians donate blood, and that means there could be more than 13 million Australians who may be able to donate, but don’t. The reality is if 18 of these Australians signed up today to become a monthly blood donor, that would be enough donated blood to treat just one person diagnosed with blood cancer, so we really are relying on everyday Australians to lend the blood cancer community a helping arm as often as they can,” Mr Tanti said.

Lifeblood’s CEO, Stephen Cornelissen AM, said World Blood Donor Day provided an opportunity to raise awareness and recognise the impact blood and plasma donors have on helping save the lives of cancer patients. 

“Australia’s blood and plasma donors are unsung heroes. By donating blood and plasma, individuals have the power to make a life-saving difference for someone in need. This World Blood Donor Day please consider giving blood or plasma with the knowledge you’re providing an invaluable lifeline to the growing number of Australians living with blood cancer,” Mr Cornelissen said. 

To check if you are eligibile and book a donation call 13 14 95, visit lifeblood.com.au or download the Donate Blood App. 

The most recent Bureau of Health Information (BHI) Healthcare Quarterly report (January – March 2023) shows that hospitals across Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) continued to perform well – improving in a number of key performance measures throughout the first quarter of 2023, despite sustained high demand for hospital care. 

The District continues to work incredibly hard to ensure patients requiring planned surgery procedures receive them as soon as is possible. WNSWLHD performed 2,267 planned surgeries during the January to March 2023 quarter, with almost all urgent planned surgeries (97.6 per cent) performed on time. 

Patients who feel their condition has deteriorated while waiting for their procedure are encouraged to contact their treating doctor for a clinical review and they can be placed in a higher urgency category if required. 

There were 833 babies born during the first quarter of 2023. 

FORBES HOSPITAL 

Forbes Hospital performed well in the first quarter of 2023. There were 1,975 attendances at Forbes Hospital ED throughout the January to March 2023 quarter. 

Almost 9 in 10 patients (87.1 per cent) started their treatment on time, which is significantly better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (78.4 per cent). 

Nearly all patients (98.7 per cent) were transferred from paramedics to the ED staff within the 30- minute benchmark, which is also better than the average for comparable hospitals in NSW (93.9 per cent). 

The majority of patients (87.6 per cent) left the ED within four hours, also better than the average for hospitals of a similar size in NSW (79.3 per cent). 

With winter approaching it is important to make sure you and your children’s vaccinations are up to date. Influenza is currently prolific in our community and it is important to stay protected. 

An influenza (flu) vaccine is free* for children aged 6 months to under 5 years. The influenza vaccine reduces the risk of you and your family getting seriously ill this winter. Priority groups who can get a free* flu vaccine include: 

• Children aged six months to under five years 

• People aged 65 and over 

• Aboriginal people from six months of age 

• Pregnant women 

Those with serious health conditions such as diabetes, cancer, immune disorders, obesity, severe asthma, kidney, heart, lung or liver disease. 

Doing these simple things can protect your family and the community this winter: 

• Get a flu shot 

• Stay at home if unwell 

• Wash or sanitise your hands frequently 

Speak to your doctor, pharmacist, Aboriginal healthcare worker or Aboriginal Medical Service today. For more, visit: www.health. nsw.gov.au/flu 

*Some providers may charge an administration or consultation fee. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if this applies to you.

The decision by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) to backflip on its restriction on the availability of an asthma medication highlights that its decisions are not set in stone.

Welcoming the reversal, National President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia Trent Twomey said it was a pragmatic and common sense win for patients.

“Quite clearly the original decision to restrict availability of this important medicine was wrong,” Professor Twomey said.

“There was no logic to it, and the PBAC has now seen sense.”

Under the PBAC decision last month, the medicines for children aged six years and under had to be initially prescribed by a respiratory specialist, and then could only be prescribed with authority approval by Medicare.

Additionally, patients over the age of six could no longer access the medicine as a pharmaceutical benefit, forcing them to buy privately which imposed a significant cost burden, primarily for those with concessional status. Also, there were no equivalent alternatives available for patients over the age of six.

Australia’s largest provider network, UnitingCare Australia has welcomed the Albanese Government’s announcement to give more than 250,000 aged care workers a much needed pay rise. 

“Older people and their families, workers providing care, and the families who rely on those workers. This overdue pay rise will go a long way toward dealing with the cost-of-living crisis the lowest paid workers are currently facing,” said UnitingCare Australia National Director, Claerwen Little. 

“We know that investing in our aged care workforce is essential for the well-being of older Australians. This increase will help attract and retain skilled workers and we reaffirm our pledge to pass on this additional funding to staff. 

“UnitingCare Australia was the first national aged care body to publicly support a 25% pay rise for workers in March 2022. We boldly costed the ask and put our support behind our workforce. 

“Millions of Australians depend on the care sector every day to provide vital services that support individuals and communities to thrive. As the largest and fastest growing employer in the country, the opportunity for the care sector to be transformational for Australia’s future is boldly evident. We have an historic opportunity to advance gender equality through a strengthened care workforce,” said Ms Little.