With the NSW budget set to drop in June, the RACGP has had its say on how health funding should be allocated.
The RACGP has released its NSW pre-budget submission detailing where the government should direct funding for 2026-27.
With the state budget set for June, the RACGP has listed increasing GP accessibility overall as a key priority.
The RACGP has divided its budget priorities into four quadrants:
- making general practice more affordable
- making general practice more accessible
- boosting equitable health outcomes through research informed preventive health and healthee
- preventing the health impacts of racism and eliminating racism in the healthcare system
“This is probably the second or third time we’ve gone to the federal government asking for this, and each time we go, we actually get a better response,” RACGP NSW/ACT chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman told The Medical Republic.
“They can see the benefit in having long consultations and in the populations that need the long consultations actually being served.”
Per the RACGP, 68% of GPs have cited the increasing complexity of patient presentations as the greatest challenge facing the profession, prompting a greater need for longer consultation rebates.
The RACGP is asking for a 40% increase to all Medicare rebates for Level C and D GP consultations, which aims to address affordability issues facing patients with chronic health conditions.
The RACGP is also pushing for funding that would match initiatives implemented in other states, with increasing vaccination rates for Meningococcal B listed as a priority.
This is being argued as an issue of equity that either the state or federal government should look to reform to ensure vulnerable populations are protected.
“It shouldn’t matter what postcode, what state you live in, everyone across Australia should have access to the same vaccinations,” Dr Hoffman told TMR.
“It’s really something where those in New South Wales are now lagging behind.
“Definitely the vulnerable populations, those that can’t afford to get vaccinated, they should be subsidised by the state government.”
An expansion of GP clinic opening hours is another recommendation from the submission, with many clinics unable to stay open later under the current funding due to staffing costs.
“With the working population working nine to five, and the bulk of GPs’ work being nine to five, it’s not conducive with staying on top of your healthcare,” Dr Hoffman told TMR.
“We’re calling on the government to do a pilot program of $100,000 per year, per practice, over two years, to enable GPs to be open from five till eight on weeknights and from nine to one on weekends,” she said.
Related
Outside of the submission, a wave of funding for GPs to treat ADHD is expected due to unanimous popularity for the measure among GPs, politicians and patients alike.
NSW has seen its first 300 GPs take up training to initiate treatment and diagnose for ADHD, with the RACGP looking to double that number with the support of budget funding.
The Thriving Kids initiative has also been highlighted by the RACGP as a key program to assist in identifying development concerns in children.
The RACGP is asking for $160.4 million over four years to extend current health assessment MBS items to support annual developmental checks for a child’s first 2000 days.
Supporting the access for rural communities to GPs was also addressed with a proposed $10.48 million over four years slated to fund the Pathways to Rural program that would increase urban GP exposure to rural general practice.
The RACGP is also looking to tackle fragmentation of care via GP based multi-disciplinary teams, with targeted support for pharmacists, at the cost of $838.9 million over four years, to address the increase in chronic conditions.
Per the RACGP, racism has been cited to cost $38 billion per year due to health impacts, which is why the college is looking to the NSW government to fund a $500k per year tool to monitor and measure racism in healthcare.
This is being argued as an effective method to assist with professional development for GPs and provide greater insight on where GP training should improve.
