The government has announced a new plan that will see the addition of 60 new general practitioners in regional South Australia, including the Limestone Coast.
The new Single Employer Model (SEM) will support up to 60 additional GP and rural generalist registrars training in the community at any one time – potentially quadrupling the state’s existing cohort as the program scales up over time.
Under the program, GPs and rural generalist registrars will have the option of being employed by the South Australian Health Service as salaried employees.
This would allow them to have a single employer while placed in GP practices in rural and regional locations across the state, instead of having to change employers every six or 12 months with each new placement.
Premier Peter Malinauskas made the announcement during his recent Country Cabinet visit, saying the new model was about making it easier for South Australians to see a doctor by attracting and retaining more doctors in regional and rural areas.
“By providing GP and rural generalist registrars with guaranteed income and entitlements such as annual leave, parental leave, sick leave, and other remuneration and benefits received by doctors working in hospital settings, the SEM will make working in rural and general practice more attractive and improve recruitment and retention of GPs in regional and rural communities,” Mr Malinauskas said.
“This will give medical graduates the best opportunity to build their careers while supporting our medical workforce in regional and rural areas, making it easier for South Australians to see a doctor,” he said.
Health Minister Mark Butler said this innovative approach will help to retain the doctors needed to continue to provide essential primary healthcare services to South Australians.
“We look forward to working collaboratively with the Malinauskas Government to make training and working in rural general practice a more attractive option for young doctors,” Mr Butler said.
“Importantly, it will make it easier for people in regional South Australia to see a doctor close to home,” he said.
The new model covers five regional and rural Local Health Networks (LHNs) in Barossa Hills and Fleurieu, Eyre and Far North, Flinders and Upper North, Yorke and Northern, and Limestone Coast. Trials will run until 2028.
This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News.
