Doctors wanting to work in areas affected by bushfires will be able to skip the usual month-long wait to claim Medicare. 

The Federal Government has promised to fast-track applications for Medicare provider numbers from doctors and allied health practitioners moving to communities that have been impacted by the fires.

GPs in fire-affected towns, such as Mittagong, on the NSW south coast, say they are already “emotionally shattered” dealing with the impacts of the blazes, which have burned through more than 10 million hectares of bush and killed 25 people since October, according to media reports.

But the government says it’s now making it easier to bring in locum doctors to provide some relief to doctors struggling to meet the demand from patients.