October has signalled the start of the busy season for RACGP Rural.
I had the opportunity to attend the Remote Australians Matter Conference in Charleville. This conference was an important opportunity to bring together people with first-hand experience in remote healthcare to one of our most remote communities in Queensland.
It was a pleasure to be invited to take part in the event and the discussions, especially as they centred around funding, community-controlled models, empowering rural workforce and communities, and tailored healthcare solutions. We heard first-hand accounts of the challenges and wins for remote and rural communities across Queensland and Australia. The conference highlighted the value of our GPs in the community in advocating for change for remote and rural healthcare.
Our newly elected Co-Deputy Chair, Dr Vicki Mattiazzo has hit the ground sprinting. On Monday 16 October she appeared on behalf of RACGP at the Parliamentary Inquiry into equity, accessibility and appropriate delivery of outpatient and community mental health care in New South Wales. Vicki spoke about the need for line of sight for general practice across mental health interventions, improved access to timely and culturally appropriate outpatient services to reduce fragmentation of care for patients. As one of the main contributors to the RACGP Rural submission, it was incredibly important to have Vicki appear on behalf of RACGP to ensure that the Committee was able to hear first-hand how the patient journey in mental health looks from the perspective of general practice.
Representing rural can take many different forms including promoting rural pathways. This month, I had the opportunity to attend the Australian Military Medical Association conference which included discussing how we can support ADF doctors in training including working towards their Rural Generalist Fellowship qualification. Discussing educational pathways and looking at the needs of the future rural GP workforce, is an important form of advocacy for our profession. One important new change has been the recent announcement of the MyMedicare voluntary patient registration model. As we find out more information, please continue to share your concerns, suggestions, and unintended consequences of the changes to rural and remote practices so that we can respond to consultations and advocacy opportunities.
I look forward to seeing you all at WONCA2023 and encourage you to attend RACGP Rural’s presentations:
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Roundtable Reconnection: The quest to revive and restore the female rural medical workforce
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No coughing allowed: Why the continued fight against TB is important for us all
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Forum Revival: If our rural health systems are in crisis then General Practitioners and Family Doctors are the solution
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The rural workforce pipeline is not a pipeline – it’s a complex river system, subject to risk of drought
As we welcome our new council members and connect face to face at WONCA2023, there will be time to discuss the important work we are all doing and the broader work of the College. I encourage you all to think about the key topics affecting you, your practices and your communities and help us shape our Rural Advocacy Priorities and contact the Rural Faculty with your suggestions, ideas and comments.
Please get in touch with the Rural Faculty via email at rural@racgp.org.au, join our Rural Pulse Chat on Facebook, or post any comments on the RACGP Rural Facebook page.
A/Prof Michael Clements
Chair, RACGP Rural
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