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Government red tape restricts young doctors
Doctor-in-training and AMA Victoria Vice-President Dr Chris Merry, said today that changes 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 work in medical areas of need.
"Dr Wooldridge is proposing to amend the legislation to make Medicare provider number restrictions permanent," Dr Merry said.
"These restrictions have seen hundreds of young doctors barred from part-time and locum work, leading to severe doctor shortages in rural areas and after-hours services. It has also led to doctors not being able to access general practice training, simply because the government won’t fund extra places – despite the obvious need for more GPs throughout the state.
"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 and many of whom are mature aged students from the Graduate degree course with family responsibilities.
"The Minister allows the most inexperienced junior doctors to work in the country in poorly supervised posts under the Rural Locum Relief Programs. This is not good enough. All such positions should be supervised, and there is an obvious need for urban as well as rural based programs.
"The Government must realise that more work needs to be done to ensure that a community in need is able to employ willing young doctors. Until suitable programs are implemented which allow doctors to work in supervised general practice positions, the sunset clause should remain in the legislation.
"The AMA will be seeking talks with Government members, the ALP and the Democrats to ensure that the legislation is not passed in its present form."
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