Looming GP shortage sparks call for urgent reform
Diversion of overseas training doctors to rural areas will have 'unintended consequences' for patients in urban areas, says Henry Bateman, CEO of Cornerstone Health
Australia is headed for a shortage of more than 9000 GPs in the next decade, largely driven by restrictions on overseas doctors working in urban areas, a new analysis has found.
Demand for GP services is set to increase by nearly 38% between now and 2030 (139.8 million to 192.1 million services).
But the number of GPs entering the workforce won’t keep up with demand, with a “widening shortfall” from 2020, according to the Deloitte Access Economics General Practitioner Workforce Report 2019.
Australia will be down 9298 full-time GPs — nearly one-quarter of the workforce — by 2030, found the report, commissioned by Cornerstone Health, which has established bulk-billing clinics in fast-growing urban areas.
