AMA plan to bolster the rural medical workforce

The AMA today released the AMA Position Statement on Regional/Rural Workforce Initiatives 2012, which sets out a practical achievable plan to attract doctors and medical students to live and work in rural and regional Australia.

AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said that the AMA has for some time identified medical workforce shortage as a major health issue, particularly in regional and rural Australia.

Dr Hambleton said that, while the Government had made additional investments to encourage more locally trained doctors to work in these areas, rural and regional communities are still overly reliant on international medical graduates (IMGs) to fill workforce gaps.

“The AMA Position Statement on Regional/Rural Workforce Initiatives 2012 builds on earlier AMA work in this area and identifies possible solutions to help attract and retain more doctors to regional and rural areas.

“We outline a range of factors that influence doctors to choose to work in regional and rural areas and offer a range of solutions that would relieve current pressures and entice more doctors to work outside metropolitan areas.

“We also address undergraduate, post-graduate and continuing education.

“Remuneration issues are raised, along with a range of other influences such as hospital and general infrastructure, family support, and rostering and locum services.

“The specific needs of IMGs are also covered.”

The Position Statement highlights five key priority areas for Government policy development that would help attract medical practitioners and students to regional and rural areas.  The AMA urges the Government to:

• provide a dedicated and quality training pathway with the right skill mix to ensure GPs are adequately trained to work in rural areas;
• provide a realistic and sustainable work environment with flexibility, including locum relief;
• provide family support that includes spousal opportunities/employment, educational opportunities for children’s education, subsidy for housing/relocation and/or tax relief;
• provide financial incentives including rural loadings to ensure competitive remuneration; and
• provide a working environment that would allow quality training and supervision.

The Position Statement also highlights the significant ongoing concern at the way in which the Australian Standard Geographical Classification – Remoteness Areas (ASGC-RA) is being applied to determine the distribution of financial incentives.

Dr Hambleton said that the AMA welcomes the fact that more areas are eligible for incentives, but the current ASGC-RA system is resulting in perverse outcomes in some situations.

“A proper ASGC-RA review is needed to sort out these problems.”

Dr Hambleton said that the Position Statement has been sent to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Tanya Plibersek.

“Our Position Statement contains practical solutions that are based on local needs, local thinking, and local realities.

“We urge the Government to give it serious consideration,” Dr Hambleton said.

The AMA Position Statement on Regional/Rural Workforce Initiatives 2012 is at http://ama.com.au/node/7681

11 April 2012

CONTACT:         John Flannery                       02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761

                        Kirsty Waterford                   02 6270 5464 / 0427 209 753

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