AMA Welcomes Review of Health Workforce Programs

AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said that the Commonwealth had developed a multitude of medical workforce programs over many years, and there is now a real need to ensure these programs are still relevant and are properly funded.

“The Commonwealth has invested significant extra funds in medical school places, but we are now seeing potential training bottlenecks emerge,” Dr Hambleton said.

 “Some graduates will struggle to access the prevocational and specialist training positions they need to progress to full specialist qualification.

 “The Government and Health Workforce Australia have identified these bottlenecks and recognise the need for better planning to maintain continuity in medical training, which will require greater cooperation between all our governments

 “This will be a key issue for the review to consider.

 “We also know that a comprehensive solution is needed to provide rural and remote communities with better access to medical services.

 “The AMA has put forward a range of measures to get more doctors working in rural and remote Australia in our Position Statement on Rural and Regional Workforce Initiatives.

 “We will offer the local grassroots knowledge and experience of our rural members to assist in the review.”

 Dr Hambleton said that, over the last ten years, the Commonwealth had done much to encourage team-based care through successful initiatives such as funding support for GP practice nurses.

 “There is certainly scope to do more in this area to improve patient access to care that is built on a medical diagnosis and a more collaborative approach to health care delivery,” Dr Hambleton said.