The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) has welcomed new Fellows as specialist GPs at the first ever Fellowship ceremony held in Toowoomba.
Fellowship of the RACGP (FRACGP) reflects a doctor's qualification and expertise as a specialist GP, following around 11 years of education, training, rigorous assessment, and experience in primary care. Multiple surveys show nine in 10 participants in the Australian General Practice Training program (AGPT), which is funded by the Commonwealth, are satisfied with the quality of overall training.
RACGP President, Dr Michael Wright, congratulated the new Fellows.
"It was an honour to return to my home state of Queensland and congratulate our newly awarded Fellows in Toowoomba," he said.
"This is the first ever RACGP Fellowship ceremony in Toowoomba. As a medical college, one of our core roles is education and GP training, as well as advocating for policies that ensure all Australians can access timely, high-quality general practice care from a GP they know and trust.
"Access to general practice care is important for all patients no matter where they live. We applauded the Federal Government's recent workforce commitment to train more GPs every year and incentivise more junior doctors to choose the GP path – all commitments matched by the Opposition. The RACGP has our own incentives, which successfully placed 177 GPs in training in rural communities that had not had a registrar in years.
"However, the job is far from done, and the RACGP will keep pushing for greater investment in general practice care. Only by boosting patient rebates, including for longer consultations, can we put general practice care on a more sustainable, and viable long-term footing. We must also ensure that no regional, rural or remote communities lose access to general practice care. The College continues to urge state and local governments to work together and offer incentives such as housing, childcare, spousal employment and other benefits to boost the attractiveness of working as a GP outside of capital cities."
RACGP Queensland Chair, Dr Cathryn Hester, joined Dr Wright in welcoming the new specialist GPs.
"These new GPs will make a vital difference to general practice care and patients across Queensland," she said.
"I can tell you from personal experience, that being a GP is such a rich and rewarding career, and this Fellowship ceremony featured some inspiring life stories that bodes well for the future of general practice care."
Other attendees included the Hon David Janetzki MP, Queensland Treasurer and local member for Toowoomba South; Mr Trevor Watts MP, the member Toowoomba North; and Mr Garth Hamilton MP, the Federal member for Broom. Dr Tony Bayliss, Board Chair of the Darling Downs and West Moreton Primary Health Network, and Tim Keane, Executive Director of Primary Care and Integration. The ceremony also featured RACGP Board Directors, RACGP Rural Chair Associate Professor Michael Clements, as well as the members of the RACGP Queensland Faculty Council.
