Presented by Robert Clark MP		www.robertclark.net

100 doctors sought for the bush

The Victorian Government aims to recruit 100 overseas-trained doctors by Christmas to help overcome the shortage of general practitioners in rural areas.

The Health and Aged Care Minister, Rob Knowles, said that the Government was advertising in newspapers and journals in the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, the United States, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Canada, and welcomed expressions of interest from suitably-qualified doctors from other countries as well.

An Internet site has also been set up to promote the advantages of living and working in Victoria. The site contains a priority list of 85 Victorian rural towns and centres that urgently need a GP, and these are all listed for the doctors to browse through, along with highlights of the local regions and lifestyles.

Applications will be assessed by the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria, supported by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and the Rural Workforce Agency Victoria, to determine which doctors have the appropriate recognised qualifications.

"Doctors whose qualifications are not automatically recognised may be able to access further training," Mr Knowles said.

"Depending on their qualifications, this may be carried out either while they are practising as GPs in a country practice, or as further study to make them eligible."

The Government itself will not be hiring the doctors but, in conjunction with the RACGP and RWAV, will put them in contact with rural communities seeking GPs. The doctors and communities then come to an arrangement to fill the vacancies.

Doctors who are accepted would be required to sign an undertaking to practise in designated rural areas for six years.

Mr Knowles said the RWAV would be able to arrange a Medicare provider number for the successful applicants, allowing payment to be made through the universal health-care scheme.

The Medicare provider number would be location-specific, meaning that doctors could not continue to receive Medicare payments if they moved before their six-year period had expired.

(News Release, Office of the Minister for Health and Aged Care, July 30, 1999)

See also the Internet site.