High noon if sunset clause goes: AMA amendment will assist move of doctors to country
AMA President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said today that changes to Medicare proposed by the Health Minister,
Dr Michael Wooldridge, in the Health Legislation Amendment (Medical Practitioners' Qualifications and Other Measures) Bill will make it harder to get doctors to live and work in rural areas and will hinder the career prospects of Australian junior doctors.
Dr Wooldridge is proposing to remove the sunset clause, which would make Medicare provider number restrictions permanent.
Dr Phelps said the relaxation of provider number restrictions is the key to retaining those doctors already working in country Australia and attracting more doctors to rural and regional Australia.
"Removing the sunset clause without a proposed AMA amendment will severely disadvantage the career prospects of Australian junior doctors - the very people the Government should be encouraging into country practice,"
Dr Phelps said.
"Rather than rush through his inadequate and prejudicial legislation, the Health Minister should consider the AMA's alternative proposal.
"The AMA is proposing an amendment to the Bill that would allow young doctors to participate in "terms" of supervised general practice, just like they get in the other disciplines such as surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, and emergency medicine.
"This will equip them with the confidence and skills to work for a period in rural areas.
"Under the current restrictions, young doctors are expected to make life-long vocational training and career decisions without on-the-job experience, and specialists are being trained without ever experiencing family general practice.
"The current restrictions have all but eliminated part time work opportunities for young doctors starting families - particularly discriminating against women who now make up over 50 per cent of graduates, many of whom are mature aged students from the Graduate degree course with family responsibilities.
"The real challenge is to train our young doctors to see rural work experience as part of their overall training and service pathway - not to send the most inexperienced to rural posts that result in bad experiences for the doctor and poor services to the community.
"The Minister only allows the most inexperienced Australian junior doctors to work in the country in unsupervised posts under the Rural Locum Relief Programs.
"The new Bill - as it stands - will deny them the opportunity to gain some experience in general practice in urban areas under the supervision of experienced GPs before they go to the country.
"This lack of experience and confidence is stopping young doctors from choosing to work in rural and regional Australia.
"The reality is that country GPs are already pushed to the limit and, as much as they want to, they just do not have the time to devote to supervising young doctors."
Dr Phelps said an information kit on the legislation sent to Coalition members last week contains creative statistics that distort the real situation in rural and regional Australia.
"The figures in this document regarding rural doctor numbers are skewed by Temporary Resident Doctors (TRDs) from overseas, and are based on the number of Medicare services performed in the country, not the number of doctors actually working and living there full-time.
"In fact, many of these services are performed by visiting doctors and TRDs, not rural-based GPs.
"It is simply unfair to the people of rural and regional Australia to use statistics to imply there are more rural doctors than genuinely live and practice in country areas."
Dr Phelps said the Minister is also proposing to abolish the Medical Training Review Panel (MTRP) through his legislation, an advisory body he set up himself.
"It is not surprising when you realise that the MTRP - just like the AMA - has been recommending the introduction of supervised general practice terms for young doctors since the introduction of the restrictions.
"The AMA will be seeking talks with Government members, the ALP, the Democrats and others to ensure that the legislation is not passed in its present form.
"We will be putting forward the AMA amendment as the best way to attract and retain doctors in country Australia, and ensure that young doctors are properly trained to serve rural communities," Dr Phelps said.
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John Flannery (02) 6270 5477 / (0419) 494 761
Sarah Bucknell (02) 6270 5472 / (0419) 440 076