THE government has pledged to appoint a national rural health commissioner, but local GPs say building a critical mass of doctors is still key to boosting clinical access.
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Minister for Rural Health, Fiona Nash, said the commissioner would move to create a rural generalist pathway to address shortages with financial incentives and remuneration.
Tamworth GP Dr Casey Sullivan said any light shone on rural general practice was positive and financial incentives were important, but building a bigger workforce was the main conduit for retention.
“GPs often practice alone and have less support when practising in the bush,” Dr Sullivan said.
“It is harder for them to have time off and have someone to cover the patients during this time.”
With smaller workforce numbers, rural GPs are often required to have increased training in other specialist areas to fill gaps normally within specialists’ scope.
The commissioner, to be established if the government is re-elected, would ensure there isadequate remuneration for their extra skills and hours as incentive to practice in the bush.
But Dr Sullivan said growing the workforce with regionally-raised doctors would boost recruitment and retention.
“I was born and bred in the bush, that’s what keeps me here,” Dr Sullivan said.
“We need to encourage more locals to enter general practice if we want to retain GPs in the bush”.
Fellow Tamworth GP Dr Ian Kamerman said the announcement was fantastic news.
“This has been a long time coming and a lot of lobbying has gone into this outcome,” he said.
“It’s really brilliant news and we look forward to seeing other parties filling in the essential pieces on the rural health pipeline”
The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) has also backed the move and said it was gratifying to see the Coalition back the initiative.
“RDAA called for the appointment of a commissioner early in the election campaign,” president Dr Ewen McPhee said.
“Many country hospitals rely on rural generalists to stay open.”
As a first order of business, the national rural health commissioner will be tasked with developing and defining the new national rural generalist pathway and providing a report to government which lays out a pathway to reform.
