The new workforce strategy from the RACGP looks to reform some of the many issues plaguing general practice
A landmark workforce gameplan has been released by the RACGP, with a new strategy set to steer the course of health workforce reforms through to 2030.
The five-year strategy will “set a national vision to grow, support and sustain the general practice workforce”, according to the RACGP.
Commonwealth support and funding commitments have been said to align with the strategy, in keeping with the RACGP’s promises to training and workforce developments across Australia.
“The RACGP is proud of the work we have undertaken and the plan we have developed for building our future workforce,” RACGP president Dr Michael Wright told The Medical Republic.
“As the RACGP trains 90% of the future GP workforce, we are committed to making sure that our training program supports the GPs of the future all around the country.
“The RACGP is doing what’s in our control while also trying to support others, including universities and governments, to remove barriers for general practice training.”
The workforce strategy has outlined eight key priorities to take centre stage.
- Addressing the rural and regional maldistribution of GPs to ensure equitable access to care.
- Bringing reform to workforce imbalances between generalist and subspecialist training.
- Streamlining and strengthening GP career pathways and training.
- Providing workforce support that can easily adapted to changing models of care.
- Improving support for GPs, with a focus on work capacity and workplace wellbeing.
- Establishing better data and joint planning to drive national coordination and accountability.
- Increasing the numbers of First Nations GPs along with embedding cultural safety into training and care.
- Establishing stronger support for registrars to fill long-term staffing gaps in the health system.
This workforce strategy comes not long after the Queensland branch of the AMA also released a workforce plan that centred general practice.
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Especially with workforce retention and supportive training, the AMA and RACGP have mirrored each other when it comes to developing general practice.
“It’s great to see other peak bodies including the AMA recognising the workforce challenges and outlining potential solutions,” Dr Michael Wright told TMR.
“We have already secured a GP Training Initiative from the federal government which will train 2,000 new GPs every year by 2028 and incentivise more junior doctors to become specialist GPs.”
“We’ll continue to strongly advocate to government to ensure all communities have access to high quality GP care when and where they need it because there is no substitute for the high-quality care you get from a specialist GP who knows you and your history.”
