Regional healthcare is at the crossroads and urgent solutions are needed.
We are at a point where actions taken now will decide the future health status of those who live in the regions.
Taking stock of the current situation in Mallee is deeply concerning. Too many people cannot get GP appointments, too many people are deciding not to seek treatment once they have a diagnosis,
because it is all too hard. This is absolutely unacceptable.
And without meaningful intervention, things will move beyond crisis. Fifty-eight per cent o GPs in Mallee are aged 55 years and above. That means many are heading to retirement.
Doctors are so overloaded that taking on new patients is not an option.
Alarmingly, less than 40 per cent of medical graduates in 2021 expressed a preference for a career outside a capital city, according to Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand figures.
So what are the solutions?
It will take a ground-up approach.
On March 1-2, I will be hosting a Regional Health Workforce Summit in Mildura.
The summit will bring peak health sector leaders to hear from regional doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and allied health staff.
I am asking local health practitioners to share what is really happening on the ground and asking the peak bodies to respond.
As the new Shadow Assistant Minister for Regional Health I am keenly interested to hear from those on the ground and hear from the peaks about a new approach.
I am pleased to say that the event will be facilitated by former Australia Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth, whose experience in the health sector will provide invaluable leadership.
It is time to take regional healthcare in the right direction and my hope is that this summit will do just that.
