news

NEW BURNS INJURY GUIDELINES FOR RURAL AREAS

By Dr David H Campbell, Director, Skilled Medical

This year, as we all reflect on the 2009 Black Saturday fires, it is apparent that Australia’s worst natural disaster, resulting in 173 deaths and 414 injuries changed the lives and hearts of many Australians forever. This tragedy brought about a greater awareness for the need of bush fire preparation, safety and increased burn injury research and treatment knowledge particularly in rural and regional health service organisations and hospitals.

"The medical response to bushfires and burn injuries needs to be as effective as possible," said Dr David Campbell, the Director of Skilled Medical Pty Ltd, a firm that supplies locum and permanent doctors across Australia. "More research is required to inform the medical management of burns, from first-aid through to rehabilitation."

According to "Black Saturday: The Immediate Impact of the February 2009 Bushfires in Victoria, Australia" research published in The Australian Medical Journal of Australia, there were 414 patients who went to hospital as a result of the Black Saturday bushfires. Burn victims were triaged at the scene, treatment centres and in hospital. Twenty-two (18 adults) burns patients went to Victoria burns referrals centres. Adult burns patients who went to The Alfred spent 48.7 hours in theatre in the first 72 hours. In addition, there were an additional 390 bushfire related burns across the state within the first 72 hours of the disaster.

Burn injuries in Australia and throughout the world are a serious public health problem yet one that is often underreported easily overlooked and underfunded/researched. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) burn injuries (from smoke inhalation, heat, chemicals, electricity, and radiation) are a serious global public health problem and fire-related causes are in the top 15 causes of mortality among children and young adults 15-29 years. In many Australian rural and regional health service organisations and hospitals, there is a great need for burn patient "best practice" guidelines for early treatment of minor and severe burn injuries and burn wound care.

In response to the 2009 Black Saturday Bushfires in Victoria, Skilled Medical wanted to support a practical project that aimed at improving health outcomes for people with burn injuries living in rural and regional areas. Skilled Medical is currently collaborating with The Alfred in Victoria to fund a medical research study conducted by the Victorian Adult Burns Service to improve the care and management of patients with burn injuries in non-specialist settings.

"Our $40,000 donation is funding a major study entitled, 'A project to improve the care of patients with burn injury in a non-specialist setting,'" said Dr. David Campbell. "The study will result in the development of new burn management guidelines for use by doctors and nurses in the field and will assist with the early treatment of burns to help achieve better clinical outcomes for burn injury patients. The study, new website and guidelines were released insert here."

Last year, Skilled Medical introduced its Social Responsibility Program that includes funding annual health care projects relevant to its sphere of influence that support its service role, the medical practitioners they work with and the numerous communities they serve. Skilled Medical is pleased to be an organisation contributing to advances in medical care.

View PDF version of this article

SOLUTIONS NEEDED FOR DOCTOR SHORTAGES IN RURAL AREAS

By Dr David Campbell, Director, Skilled Medical

Many towns and small communities across Australia are experiencing medical staff shortages. Local doctors are often overworked and health services and medical clinics experience difficulties attracting new staff as many doctors are reluctant to relocate to rural areas. Migrant doctors coming into Australia also prefer to stay in the capital cities, because they find the move easier.

"The gaps in medical staffing are increasingly being filled by locum or short term doctor replacements," said Dr David Campbell, the Director of Skilled Medical Pty Ltd, a firm that supplies locum and permanent doctors across Australia. "But the number of doctors prepared to do locum work is limited and locum firms sometime struggle to fill all the positions required," said Dr Campbell. Medical locums are temporary medical staff who fill gaps while existing doctors take leave or when vacant positions can't be filled.

Several factors are impacting upon the supply of doctors in rural areas:

The medical workforce is ageing and many doctors in rural areas are approaching retirement age or wish to cut back on their work commitments
There are fewer doctors wishing to relocate permanently to the country where they may see career, family and lifestyle opportunities as more limited
At least half of all medical graduates is now female and due to family and personal factors female doctors are less likely to seek work in the country or work the hours that their male counterparts previously tolerated
The skill levels required for doctors working in rural areas are generally higher than for their metropolitan counterparts
For over a decade in the 1990s and early 2000s there were insufficient new doctors graduating in Australia
A previous source of doctors – International Medical Graduates – is drying up as registration becomes more difficult and overseas demand for doctors increases.

Various government and professional organisations in Australia are working hard to address these factors, for instance, by increasing the number of medical graduates and supporting the vocational training of rural General Practitioners. These strategies will, however, take time and the number of rural medical jobs remaining vacant is likely to increase before the vacancy rates reduce. Other incentives are being developed to encourage more doctors to practise in rural Australia.

"It is expected to be many years until the shortage of doctors in rural areas can be properly overcome," Dr Campbell said.

In the meantime, rural health services are working hard to make rural practice more attractive. Doctors will remain in great demand in rural towns and communities across Australia and those that do make the decision to go bush either for short or longer periods are usually very pleased with their choice. There is often more personal contact with patients, cheaper living costs and a higher sense of being a valued member of a community.

"Addressing rural doctor shortages will take time, coordination and the efforts of multiple stakeholders so that rural communities get the level of medical services they need," Dr Campbell said.