40,000 extra health workers needed as Qld Health faces retirement cliff

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman has for the very first time laid out the massive recruitment task ahead for her department.

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Queensland Health is headed for a major health worker retirement cliff Health Minister Shannon Fentiman has revealed, laying out for the first time the mammoth recruitment task needed to meet the community’s demands in the next decade.

In a speech on Tuesday, Ms Fentiman outlined a draft workforce strategy and new recruitment incentives, revealed more than 40,000 health workers would need to be hired across the public system over the next decade in order to meet growing demand.

And on top of existing challenges attracting and retaining staff Queensland Health is also facing a retirement and institutional knowledge cliff, with 11 per cent — or one in ten — of workers aged over 60.

“We have a massive challenge of finding, securing, training, and retaining the skilled workforce we need,” Ms Fentiman said.

“If we want high standards of care – and I believe Queenslanders do – we need high standards of training and staffing. We must create a sustainable pipeline of people ready to take up roles in the health. The task for Queensland is huge.”

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman. Picture: Lachie Millard

Ms Fentiman revealed the state’s workforce incentive scheme, which offers up to $70,000 to interstate and international medicos who move to Queensland, would be expanded.

Previously the scheme was open to relevant specialists who take up permanent roles, but from November 1 the scheme is open to those who take up contracts that are a year or more.

GPs who work in private practice and “spend some time” as a visiting medical officer in a public hospital will also be eligible for the incentive.

The minimum hours of work needed in public hospitals was not specified.

“Doing this allows us to expand the scheme to include junior doctors and visiting medical officers for the first time. It will also open the scheme to a larger pool of applicants,” Ms Fentiman said.

There have been 1400 expressions of interest for the scheme so far, with 50 people in permanent roles and 160 contracts being finalised.

In an unorthodox blurring of state and federal health responsibilities Ms Fentiman also announced incentives for GP recruitments and training.

From 2024 the state government will provide $40,000 to up to 50 GPs a year to undertake a Diploma or Advanced Diploma in obstetrics and anaesthetics in a bid to bring “quality birthing closer to home”.

And the state will pump $7m into a trial of the “GP Single Employer Model” in three regions — a scheme which makes Queensland Health the employer of a GP trainee while allowing them to work at a private GP practice.

“We know that training in a region means you’re more likely to stay there. That’s exactly what we hope this trial will do – deliver more hardworking GPs to our regions,” Ms Fentiman said.

In a bid to train up more health staff Queenslanders will also be able to access 13 health courses at TAFE for free from 2024.

Australian Medical Association Queensland president Dr Maria Boulton said the schemes directed at GPs acknowledged the central role they played in communities.

Dr Boulton said the sector was seeing too many vacancies in GP training positions, particularly rural or remote.

“And that’s why it’s really important to address things like it’s to make sure that they’re incentivised, make sure that they’re well resourced, and make sure that they’re offered the same conditions as their hospital counterparts so that we attract more GPs to this wonderful profession,” she said.

Originally published as 40,000 extra health workers needed as Qld Health faces retirement cliff