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The State Government Must Match SA Package or Face Further Doctor Shortages
Victoria is lagging behind other states with regard to recruitment packages for doctors, according to AMA Victoria President Dr Mark Yates and this may see Victoria unable to attract doctors desperately needed to fill vacancies.
Dr Yates said the Victorian Government must immediately match the package negotiated by the Department of Health in South Australia, aimed at enticing GPs and specialists, to remain competitive in attracting doctors, particularly to rural and regional areas.
“Doctor shortages are an ongoing issue in Victoria, but unless this package is met the difficulty in attracting doctors will increase. This is a direct challenge against securing the current and future medical workforce in Victoria.
“Competition is stiff to attract doctors and the incentives make SA a preferred work location for new recruits and in addition will probably result in further leakages over a period of time.
“The package importantly not only increases remuneration for out of hours work but also aims to improve education, support and access to locums in single or two doctor practices. “
Dr Yates said funding of $7.5 million was needed to meet the night call payments, locum support and on-call allowances in the SA package and then additional funding was needed for specialists.
One area with an acute shortage of doctors is the Wimmera. Horsham based Lister House Clinic GP Dr David Leembruggen said there were 11 vacancies across the Wimmera, with six of those being in Horsham.
“Six doctors have been lost in the Horsham area in a short period of time for a range of reasons. Our best chance of recruiting more GPs at this stage is an overseas trained doctor.
“Our problem is we are a private clinic, so we’ve got to find the money for packages ourselves, which makes it very hard to compete.
“We are working through RWAV (Rural Workforce Agency Victoria) to try and find new and potential recruits but it is an expensive process, and highlights exactly why we need a package like this.
“In Victoria only a small amount of orientation and early mentoring is provided but other states are offering relocation expenses and higher amounts of training, overseas trained doctors are more likely to go where they can get a good deal,” Dr Leembruggen said,
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