Phlebotomists Council of Australia

We have heard the marketing on the radio, we have seen it on the billboards, they are gearing up before they threaten to introduce Gap Payments to the same patients that they made sign petitions that automatically went to their local GP calling for Pathology Fees to be re-indexed, screaming poor because they haven't been increased in 25 years. Truth is that the Shareholders saw the return in profit from the Government funding that saw these companies profit through the Covid Pandemic and have decided that this could be a great way to continue to profit off privatised healthcare services and the Commonwealth Dollar. Let's look closer, do we see the public sector calling for the same need to continue offering Bulk Billed Pathology Services to inpatient Pathology Tests?   Will this provide more services to Regional Patients? NO Will this fix the Staffing Shortage? NO Will this mean that patients get more test each year available on Medicare? NO   What is means is that the ASX 3 Major Privately Owned Pathology Providers who got a taste for Government funding to boost their profits during Covid, want that gravy train to continue, at the cost to Australians one way or another.   Whilst their employees are paid a few dollars above the Minimum Wage in Australia and considerably less than their Public Sector Coworkers.   Support the future of Australian Pathology by supporting the people of pathology. Find out more at https://lnkd.in/g8TDnQG4   We call on you to Sign our petition to tell Mark Butler that this is not the way you want Australian Outpatient Pathology to be monopolised and encourage him to meet with the Professionals from the Frontline. Sign Here: https://lnkd.in/efYf3EUg

Working in solo workplace environments can be challenging, especially when it comes to navigating the emotional situations you face every day. When you have no colleagues to turn to for advice, who do you rely on? That’s where PCA steps in! We have partnered with Danny Simms, a learning and development consultant who is committed to support the PCA and its members. We held focus groups with PCA members to identify the training they wanted most and together, we’ve designed the PCA Professional Education Series tailored just for you. This education series is the result of collaborative efforts between the PCA Learning and Development Team and PCA members, designed specifically for today’s Pathology Workers. We understand that clinical and technical training has been lacking in our industry for years, and that’s why this core behaviour training is unique and essential. The suite of programs and an AI coach provide you with a unique, relevant, easy to access set of learning experiences. It has been designed to equip you with the primary behavioural skills needed to excel as a Professional Pathology Worker, no matter who your employer is or workplace! You can learn on the way to work, in your lunch break by accessing the bite-sized lessons, on your phone, a tablet or a computer. Grow your professional skills and become more confident every day. At PCA, we are dedicated to empowering professional pathology workers through education. As individual technicians, it is crucial that you take ownership of your ongoing professional development. Don’t let your current employer hinder your learning or growth—we are here to support your continuous progress. This is available as a Member Benefit designed by you for you! Members: [https://lnkd.in/gXEZznuU] To Join; [https://lnkd.in/gBV_wy7z

The formal qualifications have not been reviewed since 2015 and in a ever evolving industry like Pathology that has been affected by the Covid Pandemic which upturned the industry and has left it in a severe Skills and Staffing shortage. This is not up to standards in a industry that is supported by the Commonwealth Dollar and Australians rely these services to diagnose 70% of medical conditions. Furthermore the Outpatient Pathology Sector is serviced by ASX listed Private Companies and have been the only Pathology Stakeholders that the previous ISkills have consulted with so have not (continently?) been made aware of how far the Qualifications have fallen behind the Industry needs, continently taking control of this training access and therefore career growth of their staff, without being a registered training organisation. Finally Pathology in Australia will come out of the shadows and start to head towards to fantastic industry of innovation and clinical specialisation it should always been valued as. We have a Peak Body. Next is a Minister for Pathology. Mark Butler , we understand your diary is too busy. But we have some in mind we would like to discuss with you.

More like discussion on how to create more profits for the ASX owned Private Pathology providers as we don’t hear Public Pathology making same media campaigns towards the Health Minister with the threat to charge Australians for Outpatient Pathology Testing Mark Butler are you going to address this or allow this to become the next strain to Medicare following NDIS?

https://lnkd.in/efYf3EUg

Mark Butler, we find this news concerning for all women, including the predominantly female workforce of the Pathology Sector and seek your confirmation that you plan to “cut funding for important pathology tests, including Vitamin B12 and urine tests” as stated in the below report by Australian Pathology. The Australian Financial Review Women's Agenda

How can we ensure we have the ability to provide accurate, cost-effective diagnostics in a timely and equitable way? Or more pointedly, one could argue, are we even managing to do this now? Let alone do it well into the future? And how does the fast pace of technology innovation impact the systems upon which we rely on to ensure safe, efficacious, and cost-effective healthcare?  Our Government Affairs and Communications Lead Madeline O'Donoghue, led a panel of experts through a discussion on these points and more at last week's NRL- Science of Quality workshop on Infectious Diseases. The theme of the workshop was CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF INNOVATION, so we took a walk down memory lane exploring some key milestones in diagnostics of infectious diseases to see what we could learn. We saw how it is important for a framework to exist to ensure we have a world-class healthcare system, but it’s just as important that we use our scientific brains to question the efficacy of these systems. Over the past 40 years, we have seen a lot of evolution in this space. We need to periodically examine if our systems are indeed fit for purpose, particularly as healthcare needs, population dynamics, and most importantly the technology being subject to the various processes is constantly evolving. Some points of note: 🚨 government displayed excellent responsiveness and flexibility with the rapid introduction of funding for SARS-CoV-2 testing and subsequent pro-active and timely reviews of item numbers in keeping with changes to testing needs - can we learn from this and apply to other priority areas of healthcare? 🚨 we welcome the inclusion of "the value of knowing" within health technology assessment - can we expand value-based assessments to truly recognise the long-term positive impact of accessing the right test for the right patient at the right time? 🚨 existing regulatory, funding, and quality management systems were not designed for innovate tools like genomics, point of care technology, and Artificial Intelligence - we need a pro-active and collaborative approach to evolve our systems. Thank you to panellists Oona Reardon - Pulse Economics Consulting, Dave Hawkes - Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer, Josh Glason - Diasorin, and Wayne Dimech - NRL Science (Follow our new co. site NRL - Science of Quality) for bringing your expertise to an important and thought-provoking session. #NRLWS2024 #diagnostics #PathologyTechnology #InfectiousDiseases #Collaboration #HealthTechnologyAssessment #WeArePTA

NSW Health are not just responsible for the deaths of patients, they are also responsible putting the lives of health care workers and their families at risk 👎 “At least 6,007 patients caught COVID in NSW public hospitals in 2023 and 297 died — about 115 infections and six deaths per week, on average. Experts say infection control protocols are not good enough, with some doctors warning widespread indifference to COVID is costing too many lives and adding unnecessary pressure to the health system.”