The incoming president of the AMAQ is Brisbane-based urologist and surgeon Dr Ross Cartmill. Dr Cartmill was quoted widely in Australian newspapers today stating that “the AMA is far more than an advocate for issues for the medical profession...It fundamentally is an organisation which is a mouthpiece for our patients.”Dr Cartmill expressed the opinion that it was time for the AMAQ to raise public awareness of issues affecting the broader community.
The Sydney Morning Herald (among others) reported:
Dr Cartmill said he also planned to tackle the issue of recycled water and allay some of the public fears about drinking water produced from treated sewage.
"I think the AMA needs to take a leadership role in helping the community accept the reality of this situation, especially in south-east Queensland," he said.
But he denied that his broader public agenda was too much to take on, particularly after the leading role the AMAQ took in the reform of the public health system in the wake of the Dr Death scandal of two years ago.
I think a more active role by a broad cross-section of Australian doctors in such discussions of broad public interest (and concern) would be a most healthy development.
The prognosis for a well informed community is encouraging. Sorry…I couldn’t resist the lame pun. I’ll endeavour to keep us up-to-date on any developments from the AMAQ.
2 comments:
We are well informed society Stuart and that is why its a no to putting recycled effluent water back into our dams and the AMA should butt out and concentrate on what they shoud be doing and that is running the Hospital and medical system, its in a shameful state!
Say what you will but the good doctors are never going to get offside with the big pharmaceutical companies by saying that residual pharmaceuticals in recycled water, even in small amounts, may be dangerous and there are insufficient studies so far on the point.
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