What Are the Major Weaknesses in Australian Current Health Care System - Essay Example

Running Head: THE AUSTRALIAN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM The Australian Healthcare system Name Course Institution Date Major weaknesses in the Australian Health care system Introduction Health care systems in Australia are confronted with various challenges revolving around equitable funding and the delivery of quality health care. In a comparative study conducted internationally, Australia is listed among the six countries in the world with a healthy population. However, according to statistics conducted on the indigenous populations, Aboriginal Australians are much less healthy than the other non-indigenous communities in Australia. The certainty of these statistics is evident when examining the increased mortality rates of the Aboriginal populations. The total count for indigenous Australians at the time of European invasion of Australia is estimated to have between 318,000 and 750,000. The distribution of this population is claimed to be similar to the present Australian population which includes most inhabitants occupying the south-east region which is centered alongside the Murray River (Pardoe, 2006). However, the changes in the Aboriginal populace cannot be accurately accounted for due to varied factor that affect the changes in their population. Health is a major factor affecting the density, distribution and also changes in the population of the natives. A Wide array of other contributing reasons affects the distribution of the population of indigenous Australians. This population is observed to be younger than that of non-indigenous Australians. It is estimated that the median age of the indigenous population to be 21 years while that of their non-indigenous counterparts is 37 years as a result of high death and birth rates between the two communities (The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, 2008). The organization maintains that these aspects are a result of varied levels of quality health services between the two communities that are also contributed by other factors within the communities they live in. Poor Healthcare among the Indigenous Community in Australia The United Nations claims that quality of life in the Aboriginal community is the second worst in the entire planet (UN Human Development Report, 2003). The organization goes on to emphasize that only that of natives in some provinces of China are rated as worse than that of Aborigines. In the extensive report, the organization pointed out that only about half of the indigenous population in Australia has the chance of living to the age of 65 as does the population in Bangladesh (2003). As a result, it is difficult to accurately quantify the life expectancy of Aborigines. This is because deaths of native Australians are either poorly or even rarely accounted for with inaccurate figures of the population exposed to the risk. As far back as 1996, the median age of Aborigines was set at 47 at death and at the same time the gap of life expectancy between Aboriginal Australians and the rest of the population was 25 years (Australian Statistician, 2006).This shows the extent of ‘neglect’ that the Aboriginal community faces despite their existence being traced back to the discovery of the existence of man on the surface of the earth. It is not clear whether the gap has widened as of the current times. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that by the year 2009, indigenous men registered a life expectancy of 67.2 years which is 11.5 years less than that of the non-Australian men. At the same time, indigenous women were found to have a life expectancy of 72.9 years while the non-indegenous women registered a high of 9.7 years more than the native women. Statistics published in later years, 2005, indicate that the gap had widened up to a 17 year difference between the life expectancy of indigenous and the non indigenous community (Lunn, 2008). The level of education has been seen to contribute extensively to the accessibility of health facilities in the Aboriginal community. This affects the disposition of health services due to lack of funds to obtain sufficient medical care by individuals requiring health services. Students in this community are seen to leave school much earlier than their non-native counterparts and consequently getting poorer jobs or are prone to higher levels of unemployment lading to a lower standard of living. Loopholes in the current Healthcare System in Australia In the recent years, territory and state governments in Australia have reassessed and reorganized the systems of healthcare in the country putting forth improvements and regulations. Australia has witnessed a continued tide of transformations that have changed how territory and state governments provide and organize the implementation of health services that has seen all states in the country affected by the changes in the past ten years. The tension that has led to the long struggle in the country brought about by the centralization of authority and an additional need to come up with innovative models of offering healthcare (National Institute of Clinical Studies, 2003). These efforts have proven to be counterproductive with time and have been catalyzed by the recent burden of culmination of chronic diseases. It has emerged that a strong centralizing tendency that has seen 6 out of 8 jurisdictions have unified the authority of governance for the pubic sector and healthcare agencies at state and territory levels of health authority. South Australia and Victoria have a mixture of both regionalized (networked) and other structures that predominate the institutional governance in other states. The Australian Primary Healthcare Research Institute maintains that anxiety and depression are regular mental disorders that are managed mainly by the primary healthcare facilities in the community settings. Primary healthcare in Australia is facing challenges in the management of mental care in terms of access, quality, continuity, and the cost of workforce (2010). According to the organization, some approaches in primary healthcare reduce depression symptoms such as early intervention programs and school based clinics. The foundation revealed that BOMHC (Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care) is connected to a reported positive outcome and low retention of the cause/causes which are more often than not, not very well understood. In the company’s conclusion, the care management constituent of the delivery of mental health has to be optimized in all communities and especially the underprivileged such as the indigenous Australians. Successful interventions indicate that focus on primary care is important to the consumer as they play an important role in early prevention or even treatment. Research reveals that most reviews indicate that the core problems in health systems are as a result of poverty, utilization of hospital facility, and a frail system of primary healthcare within the remote and also the cities in Australia. This case is heightened among the native Aboriginal society. Despite the availability of various possible solutions for the matter, there is a common trend of centralization of governance which is more applicable to be fully executed at authority of the state health institutions. This is because, at this level, the responsibility for accountability is higher. More common themes are hospital substitutions under which efforts to avoid unnecessary need for admitting patients to hospitals while being offered these health services. The move also calls for the collaboration with commonwealth-state divide or for its absolute abolishment. In addition, the level of efficiency in the current system there such as the merge and support services in the healthcare sector is emphasized. The nature of the process of the review of public heath service should be streamlined to a level that favor all citizens alike and at the same time be in line with the political policies that call for a review in the sector (National Institute of Clinical Studies, 2003).   Lunn explains that, owing to inaccessibility to medical facilities, the indigenous population is more likely to report poor health even twice as likely as their non-native Australian counterparts with even more cases of disability or even long term illnesses and conditions (2008). Health disparities and associated problems in the Australian community are a reflection of the prevalence of diseases and conditions in the indigenous population as a result of reduced diagnosis of absolute lack of medical care depending on the level of economic ability of the population in question (Australian Statistician, 2006). In addition, substance abuse, inaccessibility to health facilities in the remote communities and cultural differences that result in poor communication between health workers and the indigenous Australians contribute to poor health service deliverance. Cultural pressures are also seen to prevent the indigenous community from accessing medical care. As a result, fewer natives sought extensive medical care in the even of an illness or emergency. They turn to traditional medicines and practices that are inefficient in some instances. These factors affect both city and the dwellers of remote regions of Australia. Remedies Succeeding federal administrations have countered these issues by executing programs that tackle the problems and find their solutions. Such programs include the Office of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health otherwise known as the (OATSIH). This program has helped in bringing quality health services to indigenous communities despite its inability to fully solve the problem. More efforts need to be made in order to ensure that the indigenous community gets a fair share of mental and general health services (Australian National University, 2010). It s important to realize the importance of applying models that ensure that the delivery of mental health in Australia depends of the levels of efficiency, the support offered to the program and the efficiency of the policies implemented. The application of these factors will ensure quality healthcare services are offered to both the populace in the rural and remote regions of the country. Conclusion Aboriginal community is responsible for huge contributions to the culture of Australia and the world. Healthcare service is a fundamental need to all human beings. The affordance of these services ensures that human life is protected and valued. Aborigines like the non-indigenous community reserve the right to be offered mental health facilities and other general health capabilities that will ensure an improvement in their life expectancy, median age and also quality of life. More aspects hindering them from enjoying perfect health services should be researched and possible means of eradicating the problems suggested and applied efficiently. References Australian Bureau of Statistics (2009). 25TH May. Experimental Life: Tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians of 2005–2007. Australian Statistician (2006). National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, 2004–05. Generational Health Review (2003). Better Choices Better Health: Final Report of the South Australian Generational Health Review. Adelaide: Government of South Australia. Lunn, S. (2008). 26TH November "Life gap figures not black and white". The Australian. National Institute of Clinical Studies (2003). Factors Supporting High Performance in Healthcare Organizations. Pardoe, C. (2006) "Becoming Australian: Evolutionary Processes and Biological Variation from Ancient to Modern Times". Before Farming. The Australian National University (2010). Models of Mental Health Delivery: Efficacy Support and Policy. Australian Primary Healthcare Research Institute. The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, (2008). Australian Bureau of Statistics.  UN Human Development Report (2003). Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Read More