TMR asked the three candidates vying to become RACGP president to answer three questions, and provide a short statement. Here is the response from Dr Jagadish Krishnan.
The Medical Republic asked the three candidates vying to become RACGP president to answer three questions, and provide a short candidate’s statement.
Follows is the response from Perth GP Dr Jagadish Krishnan.
What would be your approach to GP funding reform?
The current funding model is clearly unsustainable in the long run. I strongly believe that providing quality health care is the GPs’ responsibility, however funding that is the responsibility of our government. With a unified voice, created through strong member engagement, we should be able to make the government fund primary care adequately to make it sustainable.
My proposal would be to assign a funding reform committee whom will engage with our members for an extensive and detailed consultation to create policies to bring forward to the government to reform the current unsustainable model.
What is the biggest challenge for the RACGP in the next two years? How will you address it?
Funding reform and standardising training procedures are the biggest challenges the college faces. Creating a strong membership engagement and united voice is what will alleviate the pressures that come along with these challenges. Policies that are driven by members and not closed-door meetings will be our first step for change.
What are your ideas to improve membership engagement?
The college has thus far not been able to be successful in apt engagement with our members. The approach forward would be to adequately travel and meet with our members. It has to be a team effort with every faculty board, across the states, taking up the initiative to explain to our members the importance of their involvement and unified voice, particularly when it comes to policy making.
I am prepared to regularly engage with the faculty board members to support them in the process of achieving this task. If carried out this way, the policy proposals created by our members and brought forward to the government are more likely to be successful.
 Candidate’s statement
Member engagement and a unified voice is the need of the day in general practice. Closed-door meetings, closed-door decisions and closed-door policy-making will be history in RACGP. Members’ voice is the supreme voice that will be heard at all times. Registrar training and IMG support will be strengthened.
More practice owners being GPs will be our goal for the RACGP. These aforementioned notions are what I will strive for.
