The Australian Medical Association has warned urgent action is needed to address a predicted shortfall of general practitioners and ensure Australians have access to the general practice care they deserve.
The Department of Health and Aged Care's GP workforce report, released on Monday, shows significant unmet demand with Australia already having a shortage of 2460 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) GPs and predicts this shortage will grow to 5560 FTE GPs nationally by 2033.
AMA President Professor Steve Robson said this report backs the findings of the AMA's own GP workforce report released in November 2022 and reinforces the need for the government to ramp up efforts to support and grow the GP workforce.
"When patients are unwell, general practice is their first point of call in our health system and this report highlights the problems that many patients encounter when trying to access GP care," Professor Robson said.
"We need to rebuild the GP workforce, which must start with training more GPs and supporting them to work in areas of need. This requires a comprehensive policy approach that starts with medical school and expanded access to clinical placements in general practice.
"There needs to be greater opportunities for doctors to experience general practice early in their career and policy that ensures the number of GP training places each year is based on community need."
Professor Robson said lifting working conditions for GP trainees to provide parity with their hospital-based counterparts was essential as this was a key barrier to students entering GP training.
"The government took the welcome step in last year's budget to lift funding for general practice and improve access to care for patients. This was an important downpayment and, as this report shows, more effort will be needed if we are to ensure the future GP workforce meets community need," Professor Robson said.
"Innovation in how care is provided in general practice is part of the solution to improving patient access to care, but it needs to be part of a team-based approach, coordinated by a patient's usual GP.
"Nursing and allied health professionals working with GPs will mean that the right care is provided at the right time by the right practitioner, but we cannot afford to follow failed models from overseas that fragment care, deliver worse patient outcomes and cost the health system more in the long term.
"Long-term solutions to improve access to GP-led care for patients, including in rural and remote areas that have been hardest hit by workforce shortages are needed.
"Training more GPs will require more financial and operational support for general practices and supervisors to train the next generation of GPs and provide medical students and doctors in training with positive experiences. We owe it to our general practitioners and our patients to provide this support.
"General practice is a fantastic specialty that is the backbone of our health system. Now is the time for bold policy measures to strengthen our GP workforce and ensure Australians can continue to access the high quality and cost-effective care that general practice has a long history of providing."
