SWAN Hill is set to get a vital increase in doctors, with an organisation of unified public health services changing the region’s workforce landscape.
Three new temporary doctors will begin at Swan Hill District Health (SHDH) early next week, with a further two permanent doctors expected to arrive mid-year.
Associate Professor and executive director of medical services at SHDH, Rex Rais Prabhu PSM, said the additional staff “should significantly bring wait times down”.
Professor Prabhu said while general practitioner staffing levels at SHDH have remained relatively unchanged, the increased level of current demand is unprecedented.
The three visiting doctors will bolster services at the Swan Hill Primary Health Medical Centre.
Earlier this month, SHDH announced the addition of Dr Azadeh Karimi, an experienced GP who relocated to Swan Hill from Melbourne with her young family.
Professor Prabhu said the lack of available housing in Swan Hill was an ongoing impediment to attracting new health workers.
“When doctors relocate to Swan Hill, it’s often such a struggle to get a house for them,” he said.
“We run hospitals and health services; we don’t run accommodation and facilities.
“Often doctors have to put in 10, 15 applications to get selected.”
The childcare desert across north-west Victoria also means doctors are often forced to work part-time in order to care for their children.
However, active and systemic steps are being taken to recruit and retain staff in the Loddon Mallee region.
Professor Prabhu was a founding member of Connecting the Docs (CTD), an organisation established in 2022.
CTD brings together seven public health services across the Loddon Mallee, including Swan Hill, Kerang, and Northern District Community Health.
Professor Prabhu said the program has been “absolute gold” for bringing doctors to the region.
“We’ve developed relationships with nearly a hundred recruitment agencies in Australia and some overseas as well,” he said.
“Our junior workforce in Swan Hill, Mildura and Echuca are fully subscribed and we have a pipeline of doctors wanting to come to our hospitals for junior roles.
“We’ve got over 400 applications from international doctors for just six or seven roles.
“The brand we have built in supporting overseas doctors and helping them through their career pathways helped us establish that kind of reputation.”
CTD has a unique, vertically integrated pathway, meaning GPs are able to complete a wide range of training and specialist development without having to relocate.
It is the only program of its kind in Victoria’s sub-regional setting.
Professor Prabhu said what makes CTD truly special is its holistic care for doctors in the community.
Last week CTD held a networking event for health care workers, doctors and their families in Swan Hill.
Attendees also toured the SHDH Hospital’s new emergency department.
“I’ve seen firsthand how (CTD) transforms careers and lives,” Professor Prabhu said.
“Doctors who once felt isolated now thrive in an environment that values their contributions and supports their aspirations.”
CTD also provides an added layer of advocacy for doctors moving to the region, assisting where possible with finding appropriate housing and childcare.
Northern District Community Health chief executive Penny Wilkinson said in March “we need to flip the narrative” of rural health workforces.
“Never has there been a better time to work in the Loddon Mallee region,” she said.
Professor Prabhu absolutely agrees.
