Canberra is set to be the first city to trial a version of the single employer model for GP and RG trainees.
Federal health minister Mark Butler confirmed earlier this week that Canberra would be hosting the first non-rural trial of a single employer model for GP registrars, as states and territories appear to take a growing interest in general practice.
Technically, the first hint that a single employer model – whereby rural generalist or GP registrars are hired by a state or territory health service for the entirety of their training and work across both hospitals and community primary care – would be run in the ACT, came in June of this year.
The incoming ministerial brieffor Mr Butler, which was released under Freedom of Information laws, noted plans to bulk up Canberra’s infamously low number of GPs.
Alongside the establishment of more bulk-billing clinics and the continued operation of the Tuggeranong Interchange Bulk Billing Clinic, it said the federal government would be working with the ACT government to delivery of “the first-ever metropolitan trial of the Single Employer Model training initiative”, using previous budget measure funding.
An expression of interest for the first two measures was opened on Monday.
When asked where the government was at with the Canberra single employer trial, Mr Butler told press that the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing was still in talks with the Territory.
“This was a model that obviously … was largely targeted at rural communities but in recognition also of some of the things that [Senator for the ACT Katy Gallagher has] been talking about, we decided with the ACT government to do a pilot here,” he said.
“We’re confident that will provide another incentive for junior doctors who are finishing their medical school training to think about general practice as their career of choice because it will really provide much better industrial arrangements while they’re doing their GP training.”
RACGP rural chair Professor Michael Clements told The Medical Republic that the rise and rise of single employer models spoke to the fact that relying on Medicare alone was becoming unsustainable for young GPs.
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“All these things, like the single employer model, just go to show that Medicare alone isn’t enough to make [being a GP] viable,” he said.
“The solutions are always requiring the state government to chip in.”
Professor Clements also noted a recent shift in rhetoric, where state and territory governments appeared to be taking on a larger role in supporting rural general practice.
Over the last several years, for instance, multiple jurisdictions introduced cash incentives for junior doctors to go into GP training.
Professor Clements specifically referred to the NSW special commission into health funding’s final report, which was released earlier this year and recommended that the state government step in to deliver primary care in some communities.
“Access to Commonwealth funding streams for the delivery of this care should clearly be pursued by the NSW government, but the delivery of primary care in communities where it is lacking and determined by health planners to be a priority should not await the outcome of those intergovernmental discussions,” the report said.
“NSW Health has certainly come out there in that recommendation saying, they agree the state should be chipping in,” Professor Clements said.
It is unclear when the Canberra-based single employer model will commence.
