Budget Needs to Ensure Expansion of General Practice Workforce

General Practice Registrar's Australia (GPRA) is urging the Federal Government to use next week's budget to ensure the sustainability and expansion of Australia's future General Practice workforce.
GPRA Chair Dr David Chessor sais there is a need to expand GP training numbers and strengthen the Australian General Practice Training Program (AGPT).
“General practice is amongst the most cost-effective avenues for improving health outcomes and is the keystone of primary health care," Dr Chessor said. “Whilst GP training places have grown to 1200 per annum this is still significantly short of the identified target of 1800 per annum required to ensure adequate supply into the future.
“As the current healthcare needs of Australia’s ageing population grow, increasing the numbers of future general practitioners within the training program whilst ensuring excellence in general practice training is more important than ever,” he said.
Currently 41 percent of Australia’s GPs work in the major cities and are aged over 55 which highlights the need to build and invest in the young and emerging GP workforce.
At present less that 33 percent of total medical graduates are accepted into general practice training. This needs to rise to 50 percent  to ensure ongoing workforce needs are met. This is underpinned by the most recent Medical Workforce 2012 report which showed a decline in the supply of GPs.
Dr Chessor referenced the AGPT training pathway to general practice fellowship as a key route to a better populated general practice workforce saying that “AGPT is a world-class pathway for training the GPs of the future”.
“[AGPT] is currently expertly guided and delivered by the profession, solidly built upon the foundation of the apprenticeship model and is blessed with a strong network of dedicated educators and supervisors.
“Health Minister Dutton recently reaffirmed his commitment to rebuilding general practice. GPRA urges the Minister to ensure this commitment starts with investment to expand the numbers in GP training.
“Essential to this is an unwavering focus on quality to ensure the community has access to well trained GPs into the future, working in areas where they are needed and providing frontline support to the Australian community,” Dr Chessor said.
GPRA looks forward to working with government and other stakeholders to ensure the ongoing strength of GP training and the profession