Coalition’s boost to the Regional Health Workforce

30/07/10

The Coalition is committed to addressing the disparity in health services between metropolitan and rural areas.

The Coalition recognises that one of the most significant obstacles to medical care in rural areas is a shortage of medical staff.  We will encourage medical professionals to relocate to areas of workforce shortage.

To increase the size of the rural health workforce and to provide rural patients with access to quality healthcare, a Coalition Government will:

1.    Double the number of Medical Rural Bonded Scholarships

The Coalition will double the number of bonded scholarships under the Medical Rural Bonded Scholarships scheme from 100 to 200.

2.    Fully fund 100 university places for rural and regional nurses

The Coalition will increase the scholarships available for registered nurses in rural and remote areas to pursue qualifications to become nurse practitioners. 

The Coalition will fully fund 100 university places for nurses working in rural and regional areas to undertake their training.

3.    Pay a $10,000 annual bonus to nurse practitioners who practice in regional towns with no resident medical practitioner

The Coalition will introduce an annual $10,000 bonus to nurse practitioners who choose to practice in remote regional towns.

4.    Pilot a bonded scholarship scheme for rural and regional dentists

The Coalition will pilot a rural bonded scholarships scheme. 20 scholarships will be offered on similar terms to the Medical Rural Bonded Scholarships programme for a period of four years.

The Coalition’s $27 million Regional Medical Workforce Plan will help increase the number of doctors, nurses and dentists in regional and remote Australia.

Labor’s waste and mismanagement has led to limited investment in health services in regional and remote Australia.

In 2007 Prime Minister Julia Gillard promised to ‘improve health services and end the blame game’.

In Government the blame game continues. Rather than taking real action Labor has undertaken a range of reviews in health.

Labor promised 36 GP Super Clinics.  In Government it has only delivered three. Labor promised an extra 7750 nurses, it only delivered 336 new nurses before they scrapped the program.

The Coalition stands for real action on health and in particular health services in rural and regional areas.