AMA President, Dr Tony Bartone, said today that the stories revealed in this week’s Four Corners program on ABC TV were tragic and should never have happened, but they are indicative of a much bigger problem that rural communities have faced for decades – poor or no access to the high quality health services enjoyed by Australians in larger regional centres and the capital cities. Dr Bartone said that Australia has one of the best health systems in the world, with a highly trained and skilled workforce, but not all Australians have equal access to all the benefits. “Our rural doctors and other health professionals are highly skilled, totally dedicated to their communities, and provide high quality care to their patients – in general practices, public hospitals, and other settings,” Dr Bartone said. “Australians living outside of the cities (around 29 per cent of the population according to the […]