Some communities in NSW and ACT currently, or are predicted to, experience GP service shortfalls due to changes in community needs or workforce shortages. This is based on the feedback from local and regional communities and the information about the current and forecasted health care needs.
In response to this concern, the Department of Health and Aged Care (DoHAC) has funded the establishment of the General Practice Workforce Planning and Prioritisation (GP WPP) Program across NSW and ACT. The ACT’s PHN, Capital Health Network, is leading the NSW and ACT GP WPP consortium. The consortium has been tasked with providing independent, evidence-based advice to inform the geographic distribution and placement of GP registrars.
The DoHAC will work with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) on how the GP WPP Program’s advice will guide registrar distribution and enable success related to the location and distribution of training settings to be measured. In the future, the training colleges may create plans to build or improve the ability to train GPs in high-priority locations where registrars may have not been placed before.
Collaboration and Consultation
The GP WWP team will work with a range of stakeholders at a jurisdictional and regional level to undertake analyses and provide advice that will guide the RACGP and ACRRM’s selection and placement allocation processes to the DoHAC. PHNs in NSW and ACT will undertake local stakeholder engagement to gather information and test assumptions about locations in greatest need of GP services.
Consultation with Aboriginal Medical Services and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations in NSW and ACT will be essential to inform the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community needs within the prioritisation analysis.
Undertaking Local Stakeholder Engagement in Western Sydney
As the Western Sydney Primary Health Network, we are undertaking local stakeholder engagement through the General Practice Workforce Planning and Prioritisation Survey as part of our local analyses. GPs and practice staff are invited to complete this short survey to enable us to provide the DoHAC, RACGP and ACRRM local nuance and perspective on the enablers and barriers experienced by the GP workforce within the Western Sydney community.
This survey is anonymous and will close at 5pm on Sunday 30 July.
For more information about the recommendations provided to the DoHAC, please visit our General Practice Workforce Planning and Prioritisation Program webpage.
For more information about the opportunities to contribute, please contact the Western Sydney Primary Health Network GP WPP Program team at wswpp@wentwest.com.au or on 02 8811 7100.
29 June 2023