‘It prevents us from doing roads, libraries, bins’: The shires spending up to 16% of their budgets on GPs
A group of rural shires, representing 8000 people, spends $1.4 million each year trying to attract GPs.
Local governments spending up to 16% of their budgets on GP recruitment want the Federal Government to cover the cost of direct cash incentives.
Six sparsely populated WA shires have brought a successful motion at the National General Assembly of Local Governments, calling for federal funding for the cash incentives paid to rural GPs, which can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The group, dubbed the ‘Local Government Rural Health Funding Alliance’, includes the shires of Gnowangerup, Jerramungup, Kojonup, Lake Grace, Narembeen and Ravensthorpe.
With about 8000 residents between them, all are classified as remote or very remote under the Modified Monash Model.
