Australia’s new fast-track for Kiwi GPs will ‘leave us in the lurch’, warns New Zealand’s top GP
In an apparent riposte, New Zealand’s medical council will soon fast-track applications from Australian GPs.
The fast-track pathway for IMGs to work in Australia is a blow to Kiwi GPs already grappling with its own workforce shortages, the president of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners warns.
The Medical Board of Australia’s so called “expedited pathway”, which launches today, means GPs from the UK, Ireland and New Zealand can bypass formal RACGP or ACRRM assessment before being allowed to work.
Dr Samantha Murton says it will leave New Zealand general practice, which relies on IMGs more than any other OECD nation, “in the lurch”.
“In New Zealand we currently have 74 GPs per 100,000, whereas Australia has 120 per 100,000 so we’re already well behind,” Dr Murton told AusDoc.
