Push to pay doctors more to work in regional Victoria as life expectancy declines in some areas

GPs should be paid subsidies to work in regional Victoria while country specialists offered stronger links to overcome discrepancies with their city cousins, according to a pre-election push aimed at overcoming a looming bush health crisis.

DOCTORS should be given subsidies to work in regional Victoria under a raft of measures being demanded in the lead up to next month’s election.

As gaping holes are emerging in regional Victorian health services, the Australian Medical Association is calling for all parties to commit to measures that would encourage doctors to work in regional communities.

The AMA’s election priorities will be launched on Sunday, a month after the Sunday Herald Sun’s Fair Go For the Bush campaign exposed massive inequities in regional Victorian health.

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AMA Victoria president Associate Professor Julian Rait said the gap between metropolitan and regional Victoria was becoming so vast that life expectancy was now going backwards in some areas.

“The reason we have 200 vacancies is because doctors are finding it more remunerative to just work in the cities,” he said.

“There needs to be some thought by the state into supporting practices and GP training in the country that can mean we get more doctors there in the long-term.

“For the first time we are seeing declining life expectancy in some rural areas.

“Because of inequities we are going down the US path where we don’t performance as well (on average life expectancy) because we have groups, like rural women, missing out.”

While the Federal Government is responsible for Medicare payments that often leave regional doctors worse off, Assoc Prof Rait said the state government could overcome the discrepancy by paying country GPs’ indemnity insurance and training positions, or covering remote clinic’s costs for mental health nursing and fertility services.

Sharlene Stringer with children Hayley, Becky and Tyler outside the Boort's medical clinic, which will will close from November 1, 2018. Picture: Rob Leeson

Assoc Prof Rait said telehealth services also needed to be rolled out across the state, allowing regional patients real-time consultations with top metropolitan specialists, while also giving isolated doctors timely referral and assistance in urgent and semi-urgent scenarios.

Other measures which the AMA believes the parties need to support before November’s election include:

SUBSIDIES for GP registrars in rural and regional to lift conditions to those of metro hospital counterparts;

MENTAL health service subsidies, maternity care and family planning support for regional GPs to support their communities;

ADEQUATE training for overseas trained doctors in rural and regional settings;

MENTORSHIP programs for overseas trained doctors in both hospital and general practice.

The push comes as it emerges even one of the state’s largest regional centres, Ballarat, is struggling to cover health workforce gaps.

While Ballarat Health Service “decided not to weigh in” and discuss claims it was forced to refer patients to Geelong for some services, the AMA said its community deserved better.

“There are some holes in their service - there is no plastic surgeon, they have a skeleton gastroenterology service, they have no rheumatology service which I find unbelievable, and a lovely helipad but no helicopter - so there needs to be some thought about recruiting key specialties to regional centres,” Assoc Prof Rait said.

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