Struggling to get into a GP when you need one? New data shows you are not alone.

Last year, one in five Australians waited longer than they thought was acceptable to get into a GP and one in 20 said they delayed or did not go to a GP in the previous year because of cost.

While the data published by the Productivity Commission shows 85 per cent of GP visits were bulk billed last year (meaning patients faced no cost), the College of GPs has warned that more Australians will face private GP fees this year because of a federal government freeze on medicare payments for GP services.

The three-year-long freeze on indexation of medicare rebates, which began last year, will remain in place until 2018 unless the government changes its policy and moves to a different funding model.  

But for many people, the key problem appears to be access. The Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services 2016 showed many people, particularly those in rural and remote areas, were struggling to find a GP when they needed one – a problem potentially pushing them into hospital emergency departments.

Among people wanting to see a GP for “urgent” care, 64 per cent waited less than 4 hours, 11 per cent waited 4 to 24 hours and 25 per cent waited a day or more. In the same year, there were about 2.8 million “GP-type presentations” at public hospital emergency departments.

However, once people got into their GPs, they were mostly happy with the care they received. Last year, 90 per cent of people said their GP listened carefully to them, 93 per cent said their GP showed them respect, and 89 per cent said they spent enough time with them.

President of the the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Frank Jones said he was not surprised by the data because there was a maldistribution of GPs in Australia. He said some inner city areas were oversupplied with GPs, while some rural, remote and outer urban areas struggled to attract and retain them.

To combat this, he said medical schools had quotas for how many students they should select from rural and regional areas in the hope they will want to work in those areas when they become qualified. He said the federal government also provided financial incentives to GPs who work in areas of need.

The report comes as the federal government is weighing up a secret report on primary health care and how it can be reformed. After the government axed plans for a co-payment last year, GPs are hoping a new funding model can be created to encourage quality care, rather than fast throughput. While private health insurers are keen to start covering GP care, Dr Jones said the college was concerned this would create a two-tiered system.  

The federal government recently said a new workforce shortage system would use population data and medical workforce statistics to examine access to medical services. The government hopes this will help general practices recruit doctors based on population need.