AMA submission to the Inquiry into the Factors Affecting the Supply of Health Services and Medical Professionals in Rural Areas
The AMA has identified the medical workforce shortage as a major health issue with the overall distribution of doctors being skewed heavily towards major cities such that regional, rural and remote areas shoulder a disproportionate workforce shortage burden. There is a strong preference amongst much of the current medical workforce to live and work in major cities. So much so that attracting young professionals to rural locations is extremely difficult. The AMA believes the factors affecting the supply of medical workforce in rural areas should be viewed in the context of generalism; remuneration and incentives; hospital infrastructure; compensation and family support; costs of establishing a practice and access to community; high on-call demands and the need for rosters and locum services;and recruitment of international medical graduates (IMG) doctors.The submission makes a series of recommendations addressing these issues as well as the effect of the introduction of Medicare Locals, anomalies with the ASGC scheme and the need to extend MBS telehealth items.
The AMA has responded to the Senate Community Affairs Reference Committee Inquiry into the Factors Affecting the Supply of Health Services and Medical Practitioners in Rural Areas by making a submission identifying key issues affecting the supply of medical professionals in rural Australia and the health of rural Australians.
The AMA submission outlines a comprehensive set of strategies needed to underpin the development of a more sustainable medical workforce in rural areas that meets the needs of local communities.
The submission highlights in particular:generalism, remuneration and incentives, hospital infrastructure and recruitment and retention.
