GP leaders call for urgent action on GP workforce
Australia’s GP leaders – United General Practice Australia (UGPA) - met in Canberra today to discuss their response to Volume 3 of Health Workforce Australia’s (HWA) Workforce 2025 Report, which was released earlier this month, and to identify priority areas for Government investment to ensure a strong general practice workforce into the future.
UGPA recognises the maldistribution of the current GP workforce and calls on the Government to address this issue as a matter of urgency.
UGPA shares HWA concerns about training capacity to build a GP workforce in sufficient numbers and with the proper skills to meet growing community needs. There is an urgent need for Government support for supervisors, training infrastructure, and integrated support services to underpin GP-based training. This will require significant new investment.
UGPA supports the AMA proposal that the Practice Incentives Program (PIP) Teaching Incentive should be significantly increased to allow practices to increase their capacity to meet growing training demands.
UGPA calls on the Government to redirect the underspend in the GP Super Clinics budget to fund GP infrastructure grants, with a priority on training infrastructure.
In order to meet Government and community expectations of the key GP role in primary health care, UGPA believes that GPs need to be supported to acquire procedural skills to operate at their full scope of practice.
UGPA insists that all existing successful after hours GP services should have their funding maintained as new after hours systems are implemented.
UGPA urges all levels of government in Australia to develop appropriate measures to properly distribute the GP workforce nationally to ensure all Australians can easily access quality primary health care services through general practice. The National Health Performance Authority must independently report annually on the Government’s progress in meeting the GP workforce needs of the Australian community.
UGPA comprises the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Australian Medical Association, the Australian Medicare Local Alliance, General Practice Registrars Australia, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, and the Rural Doctors Association of Australia.
For further information:
RACGP Dr Liz Marles, 0400 901 902
AMA Dr Steve Hambleton, 0418 731 570
AMLA Dr Arn Sprogis, 0412 082 259
GPRA Dr Edward Vergara, 0406 214 076
ACRRM Dr Richard Murray, 07 3105 8200
RDAA Dr Sheilagh Cronin, 0428 789 604
