This would be used across all general practices and local health districts.
The NSW government has acknowledged that more needs to be done to address staff shortages in key roles in rural and regional areas, including general practitioners, rural generalists, nurses and midwives.
Last August, the Legislative Assembly’s select committee on remote, rural and regional health released a report on the rural health workforce.
In its response to the inquiry report, the office of Ryan Park, the NSW minister for health and regional health, fully supported 10, partially supported nine, noted two and did not support one of the report’s 22 recommendations.
While the federal government is primarily responsible for funding general practice and primary care, the NSW government said that the interface with the NSW Health system was pivotal, particularly in remote areas.
The state government supported the committee’s recommendation for a statewide registration and credentialling service for VMOs, to be used across all LHDs and general practices.
The state is currently developing a digital passport check for employees to check credentials, improving the efficiency of GP VMO and locum recruitment.
It also supported the expansion of the single employer model.
“The Rural Generalist Single Employer Pathway (RGSEP) is being expanded across NSW to improve access to primary care in regional NSW through the recruitment and retention of rural generalist trainees,” read the response.
“NSW Health is committed to continuing to expand the RGSEP program, over the 4-year trial period from 2024 to 2027.”
Trainee numbers on the program are estimated to more than double in the 2025 clinical year following a successful recruitment campaign last year 2024, according to the government.
“The Australian government has granted 80 training places for NSW the Single Employer Model trial,” read the response.
“The training places require an exemption under Section 19(2) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 for training undertaken in approved general practice locations.
“General practices and supervisors are important partners of the RGSEP program.
“NSW Health meets regularly with individual GP practices and supervisors participating in the program and is continually engaging with practices that would be suitable training locations in the future.”
The government also supported, in principle, the acceleration of primary care pilots and allocation of additional funding to primary care programs.
It mentioned the urgent care program, the collaborative commissioning program between LHDs, PHNs and providers aimed at reducing hospital visits and the collaborative care program, which takes a placed-based approach to delivering care.
The government principally supported reducing the health system’s reliance on locums.
“One of the drivers of locum use is a shortage of doctors nationally and internationally,” read the response.
“As an immediate priority, NSW Health has commenced work to address the cost of locums in NSW.”
This included rolling out a statewide management system for locums, looking into establishing an internal locum agency to avoid agency fees and fast tracking the improvement of IT system connectivity for non-specialist doctors.
Related
The committee’s first recommendation, to allow non-governmental organisations to access funding from the Rural Health Workforce Initiative Scheme, was rejected by the government.
“Modifying the incentive scheme to enable access by non-government organisations is outside the scope of the Health Services Act 1997 (NSW),” read the government’s response.
“This is not supported as the intent and purpose of the scheme is to incentivise healthcare workers to work for NSW Health.
“Broadening the scope will also require significant additional funding.”
It did principally support increasing funding for the rural health workforce initiative focused on building the First Nations workforce and modifications to ensure the scheme’s effectiveness and flexibility.
