HOST: Australians have been promised vastly better health and hospital services under Kevin Rudd's historic reform plan. From July 1, 2010 the National Health and Hospitals Network will start delivering 1,300 new hospital beds, another 2,500 beds in aged care and 6,000 new doctors. Waiting times in emergency will be no longer than four hours and elective surgery is to be delivered on time in 95% of cases. Funding is also aimed at mental health services for 20,000 young people. The ambitious plan is set to cost $21 billion over the next 10 years but the plan is at risk, of course, with Western Australia yet to sign up.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd joins us now from Canberra. How are you travelling, PM?
PM: It's OK, Karl. It's been a busy few days, but I think it's been a good outcome for working families, pensioners, carers - people who want to see better health and better hospitals.
HOST: It sounds to me like you say you've cut a deal, but have you really when you haven't got all the States to sign on?
PM: Well, let's be very frank about this. We've got seven of the eight governments of Australia - that's five of the six States, both Territories - who have agreed to this and together they represent about 90% of our country's population and we can proceed with this agreement as it is and those services that you've just referred to will be delivered.
With Western Australia, I'm confident we can find a way through with our friends in the West. Working families over there, they are looking out for better health and better hospital services, too, and we intend to get on with the job.
HOST: So, what you're saying this morning is that it doesn't matter if Colin Barnett and Western Australia don't decide to go ahead with their end of the bargain, to sign on to your agreement. You will press ahead with it regardless?
PM: There's been too much delay for too long for people who are wanting to see more doctors, more nurses and more hospital beds. That's why we're getting on with it - because people are just crying out for change here. Our doctors and nurses are doing a fantastic job, they don't have the resources to it and this is the first time the Australia Government becomes the dominant funder of the public health system of Australia. For the West though, can I say we already have a number of intergovernmental agreements involving most of the other States and Territories, where Western Australia, for its own reasons, has chosen not to sign on. It doesn't mean that you simply delay everything for the rest of the nation. You get on with the business and you try and work things out separately with the West.
HOST: So, essentially, the deal is done. We are progressing. This is going ahead as it stands at twelve past seven on this Wednesday.
PM: Absolutely, because I've travelled so widely across Australia. All your viewers this morning, I've been to hospitals and local GP clinics in most of the major cities and centres of Australia and the capital cities as well. People are crying out for these changes. If we don't fix this system, I just worry that over the next decade our health and hospital system would reach a tipping point and maybe fall over. This is about providing long-term reform to get rid of duplication, waste and overlap between the two levels of government and to provide, for the first time, the Australian Government being the dominant funder of the system for the future. I think this is a big turnaround.
You mentioned before, in your introduction, what happens in accident and emergency, what happens with elective surgery. This affects thousands of people watching your program today and our job is to bring in these changes over the next one, two, and three years, getting the funding right, getting the extra doctors in place to make it work better for people who depend on our health service.
HOST: Alright. Australians voted for you in 2007 because you were going to, you promised, to fix the health system and you've only just reached a no-inclusive deal but you're going ahead with it as you've said to us this morning. Are you going to ask for them to vote for you again based on this health policy?
PM: Well, the Australian people will make up their minds about this Government's record of achievement and our plans for the future. It's a matter for them, but what I said prior to the last election is that we would undertake an independent reform investigation of the entire health system. We've done that. That took us 18 months.
We've road tested those recommendations in literally more than 100 hospitals across the country. I've visited about 25 of them myself for detailed consultations.
We've put forward our plan for the nation. It's been debated for the last six weeks and 90 percent of the nation has now come onboard with seven of the eight State and Territory governments doing so.
This is fundamental change - the biggest change to our health system since we introduced Medicare.
HOST: For those waiting - this is what we're getting emails about this morning, PM, and lots of them - for those waiting for elective surgery, for those waiting in hospital emergency departments for hours on end with their children at night, for those long-suffering patients as you call them, how long before we start to see any real and measureable improvement?
PM: Well let's go to the first part of your question which is for people, like last night, who would have gone to accident and emergency in the hundreds of hospitals across the country which offer A&E services. The four hour waiting target that we have agreed to yesterday with the States and Territories is rolled out progressively from next year - that's 2011 - across the subsequent three years and that is when it will be implemented. I can't turn things around overnight-
HOST: -I understand, I understand that, PM, but also you can give them a much better indication and a much more realistic, I guess, insight into how long they are going to be waiting is it going to be, in 2012, three and a half or a four and a half hour wait? Is it going to go down from five hours? Is it going to be four hours or three hours? Is it going to go down in that regard? On a scale, can you give them some measure of improvement here because people are sick and tired of these waits.
PM: Karl, that's why we've acted on this. That's why for the first time the nation is bringing in-
HOST: -but you can't give them any tangible, realistic numbers here. They're going to want that, they're going to crave that and they deserve that.
PM: Karl, they do, if you look at the statement issued by the governments of Australia yesterday it outlines how this will be progressively rolled out between 2011 and 2014, starting with the most severe cases first and down to the next.
I cannot wave a magic wand and say here are 6,000 extra doctors to staff the system tomorrow. What I can say is here are the extra positions to actually staff these accidents and emergencies and here are the extra resources to make sure that we can implement this four hour cap. Last night you would have had people waiting 8 hours, 10 hours, 11 hours and across the nation we currently have about 35% of people in accident and emergency who are not being attended within clinically acceptable times. That's why it changes progressively from next year on, for the subsequent three years, and I can't wave a magic wand to make that better.
You also asked about elective surgery and many people are having their elective surgery delayed and delayed and delayed again. Again, what we'll progressively implement over the subsequent three-year period is bringing in a 95 percent rule - that is that 95 percent of elective surgery cases will be done within clinically accepted times. To make that happen I've got to fund the expansion of operating theatres right across the country and to make sure we have the capacity to do it. This is a detailed plan, progressively implemented, the targets are real and across that time span that I've just indicated.
HOST: Alright, I think everyone at home will be the judge of that as it unravels. Health reform is much needed in this country. We wish you all the best in implementing that with great speed.
PM, thanks for your time.
PM: Appreciate it very much, Karl.