1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,800
Speaker 1: Now, yesterday on the show you heard us speak at

2
00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:06,520
Speaker 1: lengths about the situation that our Northern Territory hospitals are

3
00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:09,320
Speaker 1: in right now. We now know that a code yellow

4
00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:12,080
Speaker 1: has been called for the Royal Darwin and Palmerston Hospitals

5
00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:15,320
Speaker 1: due to a peak in hospital capacity as a result

6
00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:19,000
Speaker 1: of both COVID nineteen and non COVID related demand.

7
00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:21,320
Speaker 2: Now joining us on the show.

8
00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:24,919
Speaker 1: Is doctor Robert Parker, the head of the AMA here

9
00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:25,920
Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory.

10
00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:27,360
Speaker 2: Good morning to you, doctor Parker.

11
00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:29,160
Speaker 3: Morning again, Katie.

12
00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:31,560
Speaker 1: Now what we don't usually have you on two days

13
00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:33,800
Speaker 1: in a row, but we know that it's been a

14
00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:38,800
Speaker 1: really serious time for our health system, particularly our hospitals,

15
00:00:38,840 --> 00:00:41,640
Speaker 1: Doctor Parker. Is this call of a code yellow the

16
00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:44,120
Speaker 1: right call or should it have been a Code brown?

17
00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:48,760
Speaker 3: Well, Katie, basically the code yellow is the code bround

18
00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,960
Speaker 3: for all dale In Hospital. So what it is is

19
00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:55,200
Speaker 3: the code yellow is a code brown situation. I mean,

20
00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:57,760
Speaker 3: cove brown would involve the whole of the Northern Territory

21
00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,480
Speaker 3: hospitals and they're very sad. Taylor yesterday about one of

22
00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:04,120
Speaker 3: my colleagues who hopes to catch COVID so you can

23
00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:07,039
Speaker 3: get a ten day break actually smell of Springs, so

24
00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:12,240
Speaker 3: you know, Alice Springs isn't exactly the same situation. But

25
00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:14,640
Speaker 3: they haven't got the code yellow yet by the sound

26
00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:19,559
Speaker 3: of it. So what effectively is the code yellow although

27
00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:21,039
Speaker 3: and is like a localized coat brown.

28
00:01:22,319 --> 00:01:24,320
Speaker 2: I mean, is it going to make any change, do

29
00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:25,279
Speaker 2: you think, doctor Parker?

30
00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:28,840
Speaker 3: Well, it's the way health system adapts. I mean, it's

31
00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:33,360
Speaker 3: a visible I think state of alertness or preparedness that

32
00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:35,960
Speaker 3: the hospital has to relate to. So it does make

33
00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:38,760
Speaker 3: a difference because the hospital can has the power I

34
00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:42,600
Speaker 3: think to do things such as further canceling elective surgery

35
00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,120
Speaker 3: and switching resources around to you know, switching wards around,

36
00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:49,440
Speaker 3: switching resourses around the cape. But it's just like a

37
00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:53,440
Speaker 3: formalize it's a formalized recognition of the crisis that the

38
00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:54,040
Speaker 3: hospital's in.

39
00:01:54,400 --> 00:01:58,200
Speaker 1: Yeah, now, doctor Parker, both you and the Nurse's Federation,

40
00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:00,800
Speaker 1: the IMA and the Nurse's Federation really went out on

41
00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:04,360
Speaker 1: a limb yesterday, you know, talking about the stress that

42
00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:08,280
Speaker 1: our healthcare professionals are under and the stress right around

43
00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:13,000
Speaker 1: the territory within our hospitals. Was there any interaction with

44
00:02:13,080 --> 00:02:15,680
Speaker 1: the government. Do you anticipate that there's going to be

45
00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:17,160
Speaker 1: any improvement in this space.

46
00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,160
Speaker 3: Well, unfortunately, again there's a range of reasons, you know.

47
00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:24,840
Speaker 3: And again I think what's affecting the territory has been

48
00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,919
Speaker 3: very evident in other places, you know, and you said,

49
00:02:28,919 --> 00:02:31,440
Speaker 3: well the ambulance of officers now in New South Wales

50
00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:35,720
Speaker 3: are very angry about situations. So I mean one of

51
00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:37,960
Speaker 3: the problems of the territories we haven't got. I mean

52
00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:40,320
Speaker 3: a lot of our health work as are transient there

53
00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:43,320
Speaker 3: sort of you know, coming to the territory fild and leaving,

54
00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:46,680
Speaker 3: which further complicates our ability to have I suppose a

55
00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:49,920
Speaker 3: reserve workforce who may be able to be called up

56
00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:54,639
Speaker 3: to assist, and that puts further pressure on the staffing

57
00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,919
Speaker 3: and the exhaustion of staff GEPT.

58
00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:01,440
Speaker 2: Are we at crisis or is this manageable?

59
00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:05,000
Speaker 3: Well, it is crisis point. I mean the code yellow

60
00:03:05,639 --> 00:03:09,480
Speaker 3: is a declaration of christis point in the top end

61
00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:12,679
Speaker 3: hospitals in ryald Aalen Barmeson. So it is actually a

62
00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:17,840
Speaker 3: declaration of crisis. But the crisis is being managed by

63
00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:21,560
Speaker 3: the hospital executive and by the Again, the hero is

64
00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:25,120
Speaker 3: the collisions here. Our collisions are working very hard, nothing

65
00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,160
Speaker 3: exhausted to keep the place work going.

66
00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,440
Speaker 1: They most certainly are, and I know I try to

67
00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,520
Speaker 1: say it each time we've got you on. I certainly

68
00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:35,080
Speaker 1: said it to Cath yesterday, but we really appreciate the

69
00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:38,880
Speaker 1: work that all of our healthcare professionals do, from our doctors, nurses,

70
00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,360
Speaker 1: cleaners at the hospital, absolutely everyone, and I know that

71
00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,600
Speaker 1: it's such a tough time at the moment. Kath Hatcher

72
00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:47,640
Speaker 1: had told us on the show yesterday as well that

73
00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:52,320
Speaker 1: even at Royal Darwin Hospital, about three wards currently filled

74
00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:56,440
Speaker 1: with COVID patients. Rob, do you see there being any

75
00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,839
Speaker 1: sort of you know, any I guess Spye at any

76
00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:01,480
Speaker 1: time soon.

77
00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,600
Speaker 3: Well, again, the wave is moving through as it has

78
00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:09,040
Speaker 3: in other states, so there will we will be on

79
00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,240
Speaker 3: the down curve. But when that is, it's hard to estimate.

80
00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,560
Speaker 3: And given again the vulnerability and the living conditions, I mean,

81
00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,839
Speaker 3: you know, one of the unfortunately, with the living conditions

82
00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,279
Speaker 3: in most insist communities where you've got a lot of

83
00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:26,320
Speaker 3: overcrowding in substandard housing, there's no better breeding ground for

84
00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,880
Speaker 3: COVID than that. So in many ways, the social and

85
00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,440
Speaker 3: environmental factors affecting COVID have encouraged to spread in the

86
00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,720
Speaker 3: territory which is why am SAND and the AMA have

87
00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:39,520
Speaker 3: been calling for much higher levels of vaccination in those

88
00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:42,760
Speaker 3: communities exactly for that reason. And I mean, it's certainly

89
00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,480
Speaker 3: what am sand and may have been calling for has

90
00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:47,520
Speaker 3: unfortunately come to pass where you know, it to spread

91
00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:52,760
Speaker 3: like wildfire indigenous communities. So you know, unfortunately, you know

92
00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:54,080
Speaker 3: there may be more of an In fact, I was

93
00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,120
Speaker 3: actually talking to a colleague in the state the other

94
00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,120
Speaker 3: day is good with maths, and he said that if

95
00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:02,440
Speaker 3: the territory with an independent country that have the highest

96
00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:05,320
Speaker 3: prevalence rate of COVID anywhere in the world at the moment,

97
00:05:05,839 --> 00:05:08,719
Speaker 3: so you know, it's a pretty sad state. But it

98
00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:13,120
Speaker 3: reflex the issues that you know that the AM Scent

99
00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:15,839
Speaker 3: and the AM have been going on about for years now.

100
00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,719
Speaker 3: You know about the potential impact of COVID within the territory,

101
00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:22,400
Speaker 3: are particular conditions that it didn't encourage to.

102
00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:24,880
Speaker 1: Spread and rob that's one of the things that you know,

103
00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:26,640
Speaker 1: a lot of listeners are sort of asking at this

104
00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:29,120
Speaker 1: point is we've known that this is coming for a while,

105
00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,440
Speaker 1: but it doesn't seem as though there's been enough preparatory

106
00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:35,200
Speaker 1: work from the government's perspectives.

107
00:05:36,760 --> 00:05:40,680
Speaker 3: Well, the preparatory work is vaccination. The more people vaccinated,

108
00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:44,240
Speaker 3: I mean, they won't stop people getting COVID, but it

109
00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:46,920
Speaker 3: makes the health impact a lot less and giving a

110
00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,440
Speaker 3: lot of the problem is we want you know, obviously,

111
00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:51,880
Speaker 3: where we don't want people to catch COVID, we do.

112
00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,159
Speaker 3: We want them to be basically at home dealing with

113
00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:57,800
Speaker 3: it rather than being in hospital. But am SAND and

114
00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:01,240
Speaker 3: the AMAY have you been saying that because of the

115
00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:04,080
Speaker 3: thirty percent of the territory's populations of indigenous, a lot of

116
00:06:04,120 --> 00:06:08,080
Speaker 3: the indigenous population has got much higher rates of co

117
00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:13,240
Speaker 3: morbid illness compared to other sectors of the population. So

118
00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,160
Speaker 3: when they catch COVID and they're not vaccinated, they're much

119
00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:18,880
Speaker 3: more likely to have very serious of consequences, which uses

120
00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:21,480
Speaker 3: up hospital beds. So that's why you know, the OMA

121
00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:23,719
Speaker 3: and am SET were very much pushing for this ninety

122
00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,120
Speaker 3: five percent vaccination rating community exactly for that reason. So

123
00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,600
Speaker 3: when the COVID wave hit as inevitably, did it meant

124
00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,599
Speaker 3: people could go suffer at home rather than they admitted

125
00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:34,120
Speaker 3: to hospital.

126
00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:39,000
Speaker 1: Yeah. Dr Parker, in terms of looking forward, how hard

127
00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:41,000
Speaker 1: do you think it's going to be for our system

128
00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,719
Speaker 1: to bounce back and get things like elective surgery and

129
00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:48,360
Speaker 1: also some of those specialist outpatient services back underway. You know,

130
00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,280
Speaker 1: when when this COVID peak does pass, is it going

131
00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:53,480
Speaker 1: to be relatively easy or are we going to then

132
00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:55,360
Speaker 1: see other ramifications of.

133
00:06:55,279 --> 00:06:56,200
Speaker 2: This for a while.

134
00:06:56,320 --> 00:07:00,600
Speaker 3: We need significant injections of Cromwell cash as the government

135
00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,520
Speaker 3: is saying they you know, they can't they can't do

136
00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:06,360
Speaker 3: a cash base because of their current best budget situations.

137
00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,160
Speaker 3: And you know, the common world is obviously the potential

138
00:07:10,200 --> 00:07:13,040
Speaker 3: savior with this, with it with a significant cash flash

139
00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:16,160
Speaker 3: to try and get the elective way lists going and

140
00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:18,880
Speaker 3: and get out of health services recovering in the territory.

141
00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:20,760
Speaker 3: And I'm going it goes back again to the letter

142
00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:22,240
Speaker 3: I wrote to mister Hunt a couple of years ago

143
00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:24,640
Speaker 3: pointing out the territory hospitals for two to three times

144
00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,720
Speaker 3: are busy at other hospitals in Australia before the Cavid epidemic.

145
00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:29,720
Speaker 3: So again that's why I'm very keen to get this

146
00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:33,400
Speaker 3: potential Q and A going with the candidates, see how

147
00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,560
Speaker 3: committed they are to getting their leaders to put putting

148
00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:41,560
Speaker 3: cash into the territory to to try and get the

149
00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:43,920
Speaker 3: characterory health system back on track again.

150
00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:47,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I believe that that the Prime Minister and

151
00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:50,240
Speaker 1: also the Opposition leader Anthony Albanezi a both in the

152
00:07:50,240 --> 00:07:53,240
Speaker 1: Northern Territory tomorrow. We're hoping to have them both on

153
00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:55,440
Speaker 1: the show at some point, so we will also ask

154
00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:56,000
Speaker 1: them about it.

155
00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:59,560
Speaker 3: Dr Parker, Yeah, I mean, really, what is their commitment

156
00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,840
Speaker 3: because you know there's two lines, there's two line ball

157
00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:05,400
Speaker 3: seats which could decide the election. So I'd be very

158
00:08:05,480 --> 00:08:07,600
Speaker 3: interested to hear what their commitment to health is, not

159
00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,040
Speaker 3: just the blah blah about the common Wealth condutional what

160
00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:12,040
Speaker 3: are they actually going to do for the Northern Territory

161
00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:15,480
Speaker 3: in terms of trying to remedy our very significant sell situations.

162
00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,480
Speaker 3: I look forward to whatever answers you can get out

163
00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:18,920
Speaker 3: of them to that.

164
00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:21,760
Speaker 1: Well, we'll wait and see doctor Robert Parker, the head

165
00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:24,320
Speaker 1: of the AMA here in the Northern Territory, the Australian

166
00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:27,280
Speaker 1: Medical Association. We really appreciate your time over the last

167
00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:30,400
Speaker 1: couple of days and really laying it all out for

168
00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:35,240
Speaker 1: us as to how things are going in territory hospitals

169
00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:35,760
Speaker 1: right now.

170
00:08:36,920 --> 00:08:40,040
Speaker 3: Okay, Katie, good luck. We're getting Elbow and scomo tomorrow.

171
00:08:40,040 --> 00:08:40,760
Speaker 3: Hope you do it well?

172
00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:42,400
Speaker 2: See how we go. Thank you,