Funding for GP training is praised but still in need of reform according to sector organisations.
Budget provisions for GP and registrar training have drawn mixed reactions from related medical organisations, ranging from highlighting the lack of support for lower-income students, to touting the benefits for general practice training.
General Practice Registrars Australia is happy with the budget delivering on election commitments to improve funding for general practice training.
GPRA president Dr Chris Dickie, was largely unsurprised by the budget outcomes but was still welcoming of the funding additions.
“Having this significant investment in general practice training is so welcome, and what we’ve been advocating for a long time. T e parental leave, the study leave, and the base weight incentive for GP registrars is such a step forward and a game-changer in our sector.” Dr Dickie told TMR.
“It helps acknowledge the structural issues that we know exist in GP training to have real funding allocated to address that.”
The GPRA was confident both major parties would uphold the promised funding post-election regardless of outcome.
The issue of disparity in remuneration between GP registrars and their hospital counterparts was also addressed.
GPRA research found that there was a $31,000 pay gap on average between the sectors.
The budget addressed this issue with the announcement of a $30,000 incentive payment for registrars to remediate the pay disparity.
“We need to ensure that GP registrars aren’t worse off compared to the hospital colleagues, to ensure we have good pipelines in general practice,” said Dr Dickie.
The GPRA stated they would be working with sector partners to ensure progression for the field.
In contrast, the Australian Medical Students’ Association said he budget failed to address key funding issues facing medical students.
“The future doctors we need most are being priced out…students from backgrounds that need the most support are more likely to work rurally, in lower socioeconomic areas and in general practice. The evidence is clear from both an equity and workforce perspective,” said AMSA president Melody Ahfock.
Related
AMSA also said that while the funding for GP training would help expand positions, it would not address the root causes of workforce maldistribution.
This maldistribution has been highlighted extensively over the past few months, with many sector partners also expressing discontent with the current system especially in low-income and rural areas.
AMSA called on the federal government to include medical students in the Commonwealth Prac Payment scheme as an investment into the future of healthcare.
It also called for the creation of an independent health workforce agency to remediate the persistent issue of healthcare distribution as outlined by the National Medical Workforce Data Strategy.
