Four months out from the NSW election, the RACGP is calling on parties to cut specialist wait times and improve access to affordable healthcare.
The RACGP is calling on NSW political parties to commit to free primary healthcare for disadvantaged secondary school students and GPs with specific interests to take the pressure off specialist care.
These asks form part of the college’s 2027 NSW State Election Platform, launched today, urging all parties to make better use of GPs’ skills.
RACGP NSW chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman said the “practical package of proposals” could “reduce unnecessary waits, strengthen early intervention, free up hospital capacity, and make NSW healthcare easier to navigate”.
“While continued investment in hospitals remains essential, a stronger primary care system is critical to improving health outcomes.”
“General practice is one of the most cost-effective parts of our healthcare system, with every $1 invested in general practice returning $1.60 of benefits,” she said at a doorstop interview outside St Vincent’s Private Hospital this morning.
Dr Hoffman told The Medical Republic the RACGP would hold further meetings with NSW health minister Ryan Park and mental health minister Rose Jackson later this week.
“We’ve seen the most interest has been in our top two priorities, namely GPs in schools and GPs with special interests,” she said.
The first is funding GPs in Schools so children can access earlier care for ADHD, as well as other developmental, physical and mental health needs.
The proposed program would entail an initial pilot of 20 public schools in disadvantaged communities, which could help students connect with their usual GP or establish an ongoing relationship with a local practice.
Before recent ADHD reforms, 40% of students referred by schools in Dr Corin Miller’s Merimbula community had unmet behavioural, emotional or learning needs, and only 3% could access a paediatrician, said the rural GP, who specialises in ADHD and paediatrics.
“Until the ADHD reforms, all of those children had to be referred into the paediatric clinic for ADHD care. Now, it’s zero. We can manage ADHD in-house, with vastly reduced waiting times for care,” Dr Miller said.
She said only half of the students who saw the school GP had a usual GP of their own, and the initiative could help families build a relationship with a practice and keep up routine care.
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The college’s asks also included establishing GP with Special Interests (GPwSI) pathways in priority fields, including paediatrics, women’s health, geriatrics, ENT, dermatology and obesity management.
The third was to place a General Practice Liaison Officer in each LDH to reduce unnecessary tertiary-care referrals.
The fourth priority was to expand after-hours general practice and community-based treatment and to fund more multidisciplinary care and vaccination.
“There is no silver bullet. There is no one thing that is going to fix the healthcare system. What we’re doing is we’re providing an opportunity where we can work with our government and tertiary services, and hopefully reduce costs and travel for our patients,” Dr Hoffman said.
She told TMR she encouraged NSW-based college members to examine the election platform, identify what resonates, provide feedback on the priorities, and even consider joining the RACGP’s advocacy member network, and discuss the priorities with their local member of parliament.
