Page 462 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 23 February 2010
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This inquiry was referred to the committee on 25 March 2009, the day before the government announced the GP task force to investigate GP workforce issues in the ACT. The terms of reference for the inquiry were revised at a private meeting on 29 April 2009 and were to inquire into and report on access to primary healthcare services in the ACT with particular reference to the role of nurse practitioners, allied health assistants and other health professionals in providing primary health care; GP clinic closures since 2001; the current level of GP shortages in the ACT and the reasons pertaining to this shortage; how to arrest and reverse the decline in GP numbers in the short and long term; strategies to attract and retain GPs in suburban clinics; linkages between government and non-government healthcare providers including innovative and best practice models; and any other related matter.
In making the referral to the committee, the Assembly recognised that the ACT has the second lowest number of GPs per capita in Australia, behind the Northern Territory; GP clinics across the territory continue to close; and the number of aged and ageing in the community in need of access to GPs for ongoing primary care is increasing.
The committee received 18 submissions and eight exhibits from GPs, allied health professional groups, nurses, community groups and individuals. We held three public hearings on 22 July, 29 July and 5 August and heard from 33 witnesses.
The committee found that the shortage of GPs, coupled with the lowest rates of bulk-billing, was disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable people in the ACT, including the elderly, those on low incomes and people with a disability.
The committee made 24 recommendations, including a feasibility study of employing GPs in community health services; more support for GPs in community-run health services; financial support for smaller practices to employ a practice nurse; and financial assistance for GPs who provide continuity of care to elderly patients and those with chronic and complex conditions.
The committee also recommended greater government support for smaller general practices, particularly those that wish to stay in local suburban areas or establish new practices in those areas, through the provision of financial or other support such as subsidised or free rental and/or utilities and interest-free loans.
Recommendation 3 states:
The Committee recommends that ACT Health collect and publish data on the number of overseas trained doctors recruited to the ACT, including their country of origin, the length of stay, and whether they return to their country of origin.
Ms Porter has asked that we record that she does not support recommendation 3. It is somewhat disappointing that information required to protect our community is not deemed important for our colleague, especially when we take into account recent information such as that in an article published in the Sunday Telegraph of 21 February 2010 under the headline “Foreign doctors fast-tracked”:
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