Fears GP shortages in NSW could get worse as Queensland joins Victoria to offer incentives

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The struggle to attract and retain doctors in regional and rural New South Wales has gotten a lot harder. Both Victoria and Queensland are now offering generous incentives for GPs to fill their country practices. Over worked doctors here say it is likely to worsen GP exodus.

Transcript

00:00At 76, Wellington Dr Ian Spencer would like to be enjoying retirement. Instead, his workload

00:10is about to increase. His two fellow GPs are moving on, and he hasn't been able to find

00:17doctors to replace them.

00:18Emotionally I am very distressed at the thought of the possibility of what could happen.

00:24A similar situation is playing out in towns across western New South Wales, with around

00:2950 GP trainee spots going unfilled.

00:33Last year, Victoria announced a $40,000 cash incentive to attract trainee GPs.

00:39What we've seen in Victoria is they've absolutely turned it around. They've gone from not being

00:44able to fill their regional and their rural places to having an oversupply.

00:50And now, Queensland has offered the same incentive for next year.

00:54If I were a GP trainee now, I would absolutely be considering moving to another state. That

01:00is going to give me an adequate level of funding for my training.

01:07This medical practice in Dubbo has closed its books to new patients, with doctors already

01:11carrying higher than recommended caseloads.

01:14For now, there's no relief in sight for this medical practice. New South Wales Health has

01:19declined to say if there are plans to match the sign-on bonuses being offered to GPs by

01:24neighbouring states.

01:26Back in Wellington, Dr Spencer could be on his own by the end of the year. One doctor

01:31with 6,000 patients on his books.

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