Transcript: AMA President Dr Haikerwal discusses overseas trained doctors and rural health issues

One of those calls was from Wynyard on the northwest coast of Tasmania, and the caller told me that she thought her doctor was on the verge of being shipped out of town. He was an Englishman. He'd achieved the hearty old age of 50 or something, and I didn't quite understand; nor did she. So we said we'd find out about it.

Now there's another case in central Victoria where another GP looks like being exported, because he didn't come up to scratch on his exams.

I did want to know more, so let's talk with the man who knows everything medical - the Australian Medical Association boss Mukesh Haikerwal. Hello, Mukesh.

DR HAIKERWAL: Hi, Charles Wooley. How are you?

CHARLES WOOLEY: Now what is the story about? Have you heard - I mean, I can't expect you to know about the bloke in Cygnet; but is - in Cygnet; in Wynyard - but is that a possibility, that he's a 50 year old immigrant who suddenly either runs out of visa or years or something, and has to go?

DR HAIKERWAL: Yeah, Charles, it's hard to say, as to what reasons people have for having to leave. If it's a visa problem, then obviously the visa's a problem.

If it's not, and if it's not about getting exams - and some people come in on the basis that they will reach a certain standard and pass an exam in order to - then that's another issue.

But a general issue is one that's sort of was reflected upon- I've just come in to Canberra from Mildura. I was in northwest Victoria yesterday in Mildura, and the same situation occurs around there, and other places around the country where I go; and that is that when people are coming in from overseas, often they're thrust into positions of working independently, without being properly worked up through the system.

CHARLES WOOLEY: Yeah.

DR HAIKERWAL: So they don't understand the system. They don't understand the culture. They don't understand the processes that are going on. And it's not so much the medical knowledge is lacking, but sometimes it needs to be brought up to Australian standards, or the way in which we do things.

And, you know, I think there is a very important case to be made for people that are bringing - the recruitment companies that recruit people into Australia, to have some responsibility for getting people into the right frame; so they understand what they're doing. And some of that work needs to be done with the local medical association, obviously, but certainly the local doctors that are working there would have a part to play in mentoring some of these people through to give them, I suppose, a coach, a life coach for this sort of thing; both medically, but also getting into the community.

CHARLES WOOLEY: I suppose it is perfectly reasonable that the medical profession will want these people to be up to scratch at it were, and the only way to do that is to exam would have said about these as well - and that, the support that we need in rural areas for those smaller hospitals needs to be put in place. We need the doctors to have those skills that are there and able to work; to be allowed to work to do that. And if the powers that be say well look, you know, you're not doing enough deliveries to keep your skills up, then by all means take them to a teaching centre and get their numbers up so they can keep doing the work they need to do back in the rural area. And whilst they're doing that, backfill their position.

CHARLES WOOLEY: I know not all doctors were happy with the report, and they felt that, that it was more rural hospitals who had been dealt with unfairly.

DR HAIKERWAL: Well, there are some extremely good examples of people doing extremely important and good work; who would probably feel a bit besmirched by that. But I think that we've got to sort of cut through that, and say what are the real problems? And that the problems are that often State Governments are pulling support from the smaller hospitals, and by pulling that support, it means that the communities, the patients, are having to travel further.

And I think that on the one side, we've got to make sure we put support into the regional and rural centres. But on the other side, if people can't get their treatment locally - and often you can't - we need to make sure there's facilities in the big smoke so that they are properly catered for there. So they're not sort of feeling like a shag on a rock, and that they're actually looked after, and you know, nurtured. They are in a very vulnerable position - the patient and their family are vulnerable. They need nurturing and some care whilst, you know, one partner's undergoing the treatment.

CHARLES WOOLEY: Mukesh, if you and I had five bucks for every time we talk about this, we'd be able to retire shortly wouldn't we?

DR HAIKERWAL: Well, well that's right. I don't think we should give up, because there's a lot of good things that we can do, and I'm getting some solutions while I'm going round these different sorts of places, and we're hoping to hold a rural health summit some time in the second half of the year.

CHARLES WOOLEY: Oh good, will, you let us be part of it? We'd like to...

DR MUKESH HAIKERWAL: Sure.

CHARLES WOOLEY: ...we'd like to spread the word. Thank you very much for appearing again.

DR MUKESH HAIKERWAL: Thanks Charles. Thank you.