The Rural Doctors Association says the axing of a junior doctor program will hit rural practices hard.
Last week’s federal budget announced the scrapping of the Prevocational General Practice Placement Program at the end of this year.
Rural Doctors Association treasurer Paul Mara says the program plays an important role in exposing young doctors to rural practices.
Dr Mara says its loss will have a more serious impact on country practices than the introduction of a GP visit co-payment.
“Well I think in terms of access to care this has been one of the best workforce strategies of previous governments and we believe that if you don’t have access to doctors, it doesn’t matter whether you’re paying a co-payment or not if you can’t get to see the doctor,” he said.
“These are the doctors that have been coming out to rural practices, getting exposed to rural practice and then many of them deciding to take up rural and regional practice.
“We’re also finding that these doctors when they move into rural practice are providing very valuable workforce support in the hospitals in the smaller towns and many of the practices couldn’t survive without those doctors.”
The Health Department says the program was established when it was difficult to attract hospital doctors into a general practice career but that has not been the case for several years.
It says GP training places will increase by 300 next year, with more than 60 per cent of those in regional and rural areas.