Hip- pocket pain puts North Queenslanders off seeking help Care cost health hazard
THE high cost of medical services has stopped 7 per cent of North Queenslanders accessing care when needed in the past year.
The rate of people in the North over the age of 15 who reported delaying or not going to a specialist, GP, imaging or pathology service between 2016 and 2017 due to cost was above the national rate of 6.5 per cent.
A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows the Northern Queensland region had the tenth highest rate of people delaying medical care due to cost during that 12- month period.
The median out- of- pocket cost in the year was $ 142 per patient.
Researchers found the variation in the amount patients spent out- of- pocket on health services was influenced by factors such as the availability of bulk- billed services and nonhospital primary and specialist services subsidised by Medicare.
Overall, patients in metro- politan areas were less likely to have out- of- pocket costs than patients in regional areas.
AIHW spokesman Michael Frost said the report highlighted important insights into the way people used health services and the barriers to accessing services that may exist in some areas.
“The findings will help inform policymakers and health service providers to better understand the needs of their local area,” he said.
Herbert MP Cathy O’Toole said it was “unacceptable” to think out- of- pocket expenses were deterring people from getting treatment.
“If we don’t have people seeking primary healthcare early when they’re unwell, inevitably this becomes a secondary or tertiary issue that is a further burden on the health budget,” Ms O’Toole said. “It also reduces an individual’s quality of life.”
She said cost concerns were also pushing people to hospital emergency departments, which could not be expected to handle minor illnesses.
“If people aren’t going to the GP when they should, we end up with large numbers of people in our emergency departments,” she said. FLAVOURS, FLAVOURS sights and sounds from around the world can be experienced in Townsville this weekend.
The Townsville Cultural Fest starts today and will run until Sunday.
Thousands of people are expected to flock to the festival which will showcase the diversity of Australia through music, dance, arts and culture as well as a delicious range of exotic food.
There will be wide range of entertainment. Expect anything from Latin dancing to bangers from headliner Baker Boy.
The Arnhem Land hip- hop artist and dancer, otherwise known as Danzel Baker, raps in his native Yolngu Matha tongue.
He made a name for himself after twice making Triple J’s Hottest 100.
Over the next three days there will more than 100 performing groups hitting the stage at James Cook University.
Tickets start at $ 15 and are available at the gate.