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Real incentives needed to keep doctors (Bendigo Weekly, opinion)
VICTORIA attracts hundreds of new residents each week from overseas and interstate and as a result the population of our regional centres is soaring.
To someone unfamiliar with the extent of Bendigo's medical workforce shortage it would seem strange that given the growth rates of the city, the arrival of one new general practitioner is considered front page news.
But the promise of open books and same-day appointments a new doctor brings is a welcome relief for a city hard hit by the state's doctor shortage and for most, this warrants front page overage.
Bendigo has one of the worst GP-to-population ratios in the state with just one general practitioner to between 1450 and 1599 people, better only to Albury Wodonga and the Eastern Ranges.
The city keeps growing but the number of doctors is not keeping up. The number of GPs in Victoria increased by just one doctor in the 10 years between 1996 and 2006 while the state population rose by more than half a million. It’s a problem across Australia, but for thousands of families in Bendigo who cannot get an appointment to see a GP, it's a daily crisis.
Chronic conditions are not being managed, ailments are not being treated and families are going without basic medical attention. Doctors hate turning patients away but the alternative - to work longer and potentially unsafe hours in order to see all patients in need - won't fix the problem.
Unfortunately the state's doctor shortage will get worse before it gets better, but there are ways we can ease the shortage and prepare for a new generation of doctors who will be graduating from medical school over the next five years.
State and federal governments must do more to attract new doctors to the area and increase general practice training opportunities for junior doctors
Each year we see lower and fewer young doctors choosing general practice as a career path.
Medical student numbers have grown in recent years so there is potential for general practice to grow, but first we need to invest in training and infrastructure to facilitate this.
Training is a tough commitment to make when votive got a waiting room full of people.
It requires time, money and facilities. Federal government assistance for GPs to set-up general practice training places would provide young doctors with a taste for general practice early on and hopefully, a taste for a regional lifestyle.
Adjusting Bendigo's District Workforce Shortage classifications to snake it easier to attract overseas-trained doctors to the area is another way the federal government can ease the region's GP shortage.
These incentives are available to doctors in rural and outer suburban areas so it makes sense that they should apply in regional centres experiencing similar problems.
We are competing with other states to attract doctors so offering the same or better conditions is a must.
The state government should implement a rural medical workforce rescue package to provide real incentives for doctors to work and stay in the area.
Both state and federal governments need to address GP shortages and adequately plan for the future to ensure that residents of Bendigo and regional Victoria receive the same high standards of healthcare as their city counterparts.
Dr Doug Travis is president of AMA Victoria.
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