{"id":83774,"date":"2023-10-01T00:59:06","date_gmt":"2023-10-01T00:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mylifestylemax.com\/?p=83774"},"modified":"2023-10-01T00:59:06","modified_gmt":"2023-10-01T00:59:06","slug":"why-this-invisible-profession-wants-to-step-up-in-the-healthcare-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mylifestylemax.com\/lifestyle\/why-this-invisible-profession-wants-to-step-up-in-the-healthcare-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Why this \u2018invisible\u2019 profession wants to step up in the healthcare system"},"content":{"rendered":"

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They might usually be seen in ambulances or emergency departments. But paramedics say they are \u201cinvisible\u201d professionals in Australia\u2019s health system, who could also be employed in doctors\u2019 surgeries and urgent care centres, if only red tape was gone and Medicare recognised them.<\/p>\n

As submissions open in a government review investigating how various health practitioners can do more to relieve the strain on the health system, paramedicine has become the fastest-growing health profession in the country.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Crown Resorts manager of clinical governance and medical response David McLeod (right) and paramedic Vandan Tevani in Crown Sydney\u2019s health centre. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Kate Geraghty<\/cite><\/p>\n

Ryan Lovett, chair of the Australasian College of Paramedicine, said he wanted to see paramedics employed in primary care settings \u2013 particularly as some patients turn to emergency departments instead of their GP to avoid rising out-of-pocket fees.<\/p>\n

\u201cUrgent care is paramedics\u2019 bread and butter,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there\u2019s no option for general practices to employ them. They can\u2019t pay a practice paramedic under Medicare like they can for nurses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen a small number of GP clinics and urgent care centres have made those decisions to employ paramedics themselves \u2013 bearing the cost \u2013 because they recognise the benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n

David McLeod works in one such clinic. He leads a team of paramedics that staffs 24\/7 urgent care centres at Crown resorts for travellers, residents and employees in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new era of primary health paramedicine is one that doesn\u2019t really focus a paramedic in an ambulance vehicle. It has a focus on chronic conditions, long-term health goals, and looking after the whole wellbeing of a patient,\u201d McLeod said.<\/p>\n

His team assesses workplace injuries on site before linking employees with the right external health service, and monitors them afterwards to prevent further injury. It also helps staff look after chronic health issues \u2013 such as hypertension, high blood pressure or newly diagnosed diabetes \u2013 and navigate mental health services or counselling support.<\/p>\n

\u201cTen to 15 years ago, that used to happen at the GP, but GPs are under pressure these days and can have minimal time with patients,\u201d McLeod said.<\/p>\n

\u201c[We\u2019re] not just about treating someone, sending them an ambulance and sending them away. It\u2019s about utilising paramedics\u2019 capability to take the impact off the greater health system.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lovett said paramedics were generalists trained to make rapid assessments of patients \u2013 whether it be an emergency childbirth, acute mental health crisis, cardiac chest pain or stroke \u2013 and either treat and discharge them, refer them to another practitioner in the health system, or take them to an emergency department.<\/p>\n

He said paramedics could play that role in general practices, the government\u2019s new urgent care clinics, or in rural and regional areas where there were worker shortages. However, there was no funding option to employ them under Medicare, and there were other red tape issues around medicines and referrals.<\/p>\n

\u201cA paramedic might see somebody with a sporting injury, or a kid that\u2019s fallen off play equipment and broken a leg. But there\u2019s no way they can independently request something as simple as an X-ray or a blood test to inform the patient\u2019s next stage of care. It has to go through a GP or a hospital,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a lost opportunity, and it\u2019s not providing the best care for the patient at that time. If you don\u2019t need to take someone to a hospital, you shouldn\u2019t take someone to hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

The number of paramedics registered to work in Australia has grown by almost 40 per cent since 2019, compared to 18 per cent for the overall health workforce. There are now 24,164 registered to work in Australia, which Lovett said was more than the number of state-based ambulance jobs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe graduate more paramedics every year than there are jobs in ambulance services. There are paramedics out there that we can employ today,\u201d Lovett said.<\/p>\n

Health Minister Mark Butler said the health workforce had been held back too long, as he welcomed submissions to the government review of worker capabilities.<\/p>\n

Peter Breadon, the Grattan Institute\u2019s health policy director, said paramedics had capabilities in prevention, patient education and teaching self-management of chronic disease, and would be pushing for a greater role in the government review.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re one of the few workforce groups that certainly doesn\u2019t have supply problems,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

McLeod\u2019s clinics look similar to GP clinics, fitted out with a desk, patient bed and treatment chairs. There\u2019s also the equipment you\u2019d expect to see: ophthalmoscopes and stethoscopes, monitors for electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood pressure tests, and a range of medications.<\/p>\n

But he said it wasn\u2019t their role to replace GPs, who remained the central access point for his patients outside the work environment. \u201cIt\u2019s never about taking over the care of another professional… The GP is always the team leader. It\u2019s all about a multidisciplinary approach,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can be hard to access healthcare while you\u2019re at work; this is another avenue to seek support and assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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