A funding boost to train more general practitioners is a good first step but more needs to be done to attract and retain GPs in Otago and Southland, clinicians say.
Health Minister Andrew Little yesterday announced a series of measures to implement a pledge he made last month to train an extra 100 new GPs a year.
Those included a big pay hike for trainee GPs — between 13% and 23% — to give them parity with hospital registrars, a policy which general practitioners have long sought.
"The fact trainee GPs are paid less than registrars working in hospitals is the biggest barrier to young doctors going into general practice," Mr Little said.
"That pay gap will be closed, to bring the pay of first-year GP registrars in line with that of hospital registrars."
WellSouth primary health network clinical director Dr Carol Atmore said the pay initiative was welcome recognition that more needed to be done to support general practices and encourage more medical graduates to specialise in general practice.
"We hope that this is a first step and there is more support to ensure we attract and keep doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers in primary care," Dr Atmore said.
"Financial support to help cover some of the costs of having a trainee doctor in the practice will also be helpful to practices."
The pay disparity has been a particular challenge for attracting, and then retaining, trainee and junior GPs in Otago and Southland.
The southern health region rates as the most rural in New Zealand, and medical centres and GP clinics in Otago and Southland have long lamented the difficulty of finding clinical staff, particularly doctors.
In the past two years, WellSouth has set up a range of initiatives to encourage medical students to try and then specialise in general practice, and especially rural general practice.
Dr Atmore said Mr Little’s announcement was pleasing progress but she hoped there would be more to come.
"Funding is important to continue these efforts," she said.
"WellSouth will continue to be vocal supporters of pay parity for primary care and we hope the next step is ensuring specialist GPs can earn incomes consistent with hospital specialists and that all primary care healthcare workers can earn the same wages as their secondary care colleagues."
Mr Little also announced there would be funding to pay teaching supervisors for an extra 2.5 hours a week, and for GPs who hosted 12-week community training modules to be paid a $3600 hosting fee.
Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network chief executive Dr Grant Davidson said the GP shortage was most pronounced in rural areas and any help was welcome.
He echoed Dr Atmore’s call for pay parity.
"We need much wider system-based changes if we are to see greater numbers of GPs choose to work in rural communities," Dr Davidson said.
"There needs to be more positions available in medical schools, with a good proportion of these targeted at students interested in rural general practice."
General Practice New Zealand chairman Jeff Lowe said the funding announcement was overdue recognition of the gulf between GP and registrar trainees.
"More work needs to be done to avoid our reliance on overseas-trained GPs and to ensure that general practice is an appealing career at all stages of the medical training pathway."
