By ELLESSE ALBERS
THE ACT Government has admitted Canberra’s general practitioner shortage may not improve in the next three years, putting more pressure on emergency departments.
Health Minister Katy Gallagher’s spokesperson said that whether the GP shortage would improve in the next three years was difficult to predict as there were many variables.
“What we do know is that in about three years we will start seeing more medical students graduating, however that does not translate into more GPs immediately because years of training are required before a graduate becomes a fully qualified GP,” Ms Gallagher’s spokesperson said. “The other variable is the choices graduates make and whether they choose general practice .
“The Government’s hoping its initiatives will encourage students to choose general practice.”
Ms Gallagher told the ACT standing committee on Health, Community and Social Services (heard on 22 July 2009) that Canberra needs 74 extra GPs.
“It’s going to get better, but just because the length of time it takes to train a general practitioner, it won’t necessarily be better next year,” Ms Gallagher said.
The Health Care Consumers Association (HCCA) believes the GP shortage is not going to improve unless long-term solutions are initiated as quickly as possible.
HCCA executive director Darlene Cox said the GP shortage was a “multi-pronged” problem, and that part of the problem is the way consumers use the services.
“For people who work during the day, going to a GP after hours is exceptionally expensive,” Ms Cox said yesterday (5 August 2009). “If they can’t find the money, they end up going to the emergency department.
“What the Government needs to do is quickly evaluate the findings and come up with a solution that will help in the long term.”
Statistics from January 2007 show that Canberra was short more than 70 GPs, and according to the latest statistics released this year, the figure has not changed.
In June, around 9000 people went to the emergency departments; the increase due to the swine flu pandemic.
