ANAO report shows that GP Infrastructure Grants deliver better primary care than GP Super Clinics
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that the latest report from the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) on the Primary Care Infrastructure Grants Program (PCIG) shows clearly that the Program is a far better primary care investment for the Government than the troubled GP Super Clinics Program.
Dr Hambleton said that investing in existing quality local general practices that have served their communities for years is much smarter than importing expensive poorly-planned ‘white elephants’ that drain vital funds from the health system.
“The ANAO audit report shows that the Primary Care Infrastructure Grants Program is making good progress, with 74 projects completed and 108 currently underway,” Dr Hambleton said.
“The Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) has awarded 280 grants already, with the potential for another 190 grants to be approved from existing applications.
“There is strong demand for the grants, which means that local GPs in private practice are in for the long haul and want to provide their patients and communities with more services and better services.
“They should not have to compete with Government-subsidised competition from GP Super Clinics where they are not needed,” Dr Hambleton said.
The PCIG program was established with funding of $117 million over four years to upgrade around 425 GP facilities. The Program’s broad aim was to improve community access to integrated GP and primary healthcare services, with grants of up to $500,000 being available.
According to the ANAO, DoHA is making steady progress in implementing the PCIG program in a manner consistent with the objectives set by the Government.
The PCIG was only announced in 2010-11, yet the rollout of the Program appears to have been rapid. The AMA believes this is the direct result of focusing funding on existing practices that can move quickly to enhance infrastructure in a way that supports improved access to services for patients and the training of the next generation of GPs
This is in direct contrast to the Government’s GP Super Clinics Program that commenced in 2007-08 and which has been plagued with problems, including the decision not to proceed with some clinics, financial bailouts, and the failure to recruit the GPs needed to staff many clinics.
Only 25 clinics are operating to date, well short of Government targets. Total funding for this program is $650 million to support the establishment of 64 clinics across the country. The ANAO is currently auditing the GP Super Clinics Program.
20 June 2012
CONTACT: John Flannery 02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761
Kirsty Waterford 02 6270 5464 / 0427 209 753
