GENERAL PRACTITIONER
SHORTAGE — REGIONS — HON DARREN WEST'S COMMENTS
1423. Hon MARTIN ALDRIDGE to the parliamentary secretary
representing the Minister for Health:
I
refer to an article in the Narrogin Observer dated 31 October 2019,
titled ''MP not sold on recruiting overseas GPs'', with
reference to comments made by Hon Darren West, MLC.
(1) Noting Mr West's assertion that Western Australia
is currently 50 GPs short, how many general practitioners does Western Australia
currently require?
(2) Would the
state government characterise the GP shortage in Western Australia as a ''small''
issue, as Mr West said in the article?
(3) In light of
Mr West's position on overseas-trained doctors—OTDs—as
referred to in the aforementioned article, is the state government reviewing
its position on using OTDs in the public health system?
(4) What impact
is this ''small'' issue of general practitioner shortage in
regional WA having on the operation of the WA Country Health Service?
Hon ALANNA CLOHESY
replied:
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) The
Department of Health advises that the vocationally registered general practice
workforce in WA is insufficient to meet demand. GP demand modelling is complex
and further work is required to validate shortfall figures and quantify future
demand.
(2) The state
government acknowledges that a shortfall of GPs is a significant medical
workforce issue in WA and throughout Australia.
(3) Appointments to the public
health system are undertaken on a merit-based process.
(4) GP shortages in regional WA may result in
difficulties in filling WACHS medical rosters, despite significant
incentives being offered through the country health initiative program for
those GPs supporting in emergency departments and with procedural practice.
WACHS has a range of strategies in place to mitigate the risk, including the
contracting of locum staff and the provision of services such as the WACHS
emergency telehealth service and inpatient telehealth service.