New era of collaboration as GP Adviser role announced

General practice will have a new voice in state-level health decisions in Victoria following the announcement of a new GP Adviser role.
 
The RACGP’s Victorian Faculty has advocated for the new position for years. Its creation was revealed in the press this week and confirmed in a press release from Premier Daniel Andrews on Thursday.
 
The appointment process, which the Victorian Government has said will take place in the coming weeks, will be informed by consultation with the RACGP and the AMA.
 
The Andrews Government has said the new role is designed to improve connections between primary care and hospitals.
 
The appointee will also work with the state’s Chief Surgical Adviser on patient pathways to surgery and help support consultation and communication between the Victorian Department of Health and general practice, as well as advocate for Federal investment.
 
RACGP President Adjunct Professor Karen Price welcomed the announcement of the role and said she is ‘very pleased’ that the Victorian Government has listened to the RACGP’s calls.
 
‘This spirit of collaboration between state and Federal systems is something I can’t praise highly enough,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘Patients benefit when we all work together. We serve the community, we must always remember that as clinicians, and the same for politicians.
 
‘For way too long, healthcare in Australia has been fragmented between different jurisdictions, with general practice – which is so fundamental to the health of the nation – excluded from conversations we have really needed to be part of.
 
 
‘I hope we can continue to see similar levels of engagement and cooperation between every tier of government right across the country.’
 
Professor Price also highlighted the role GPs play in providing preventive care, keeping the community healthy and out of hospital.
 
‘It makes sense that there should be a Chief GP role within the health department to make sure that general practice is considered and included in the planning and decision making on all healthcare matters,’ she said.
 
RACGP Victoria Chair Dr Anita Muñoz said her predecessor in the role, Dr Cameron Loy, initially made the case for the position to the Victorian Government years ago.
 
She also welcomed the confirmation of the role and described it is as ‘needed now more than ever’.
 
‘Practices in Victoria, and around the nation, have been under immense pressure,’ she said.
 
‘And not just due to the impacts of the pandemic, but because funding for general practice patients has eroded over decades, while at the same time the demand for GP care has increased exponentially.
 
‘Our population is ageing, and we are seeing increasing rates of chronic disease and mental health concerns, and people with multiple conditions needing complex care.
 
‘The community need for general practice care is at a scale never seen before. There is no substitute for GPs – that path poses a significant risk to quality care provision and will result in poor health outcomes for patients.’
 
Dr Muñoz said she is looking forward to working closely with the new appointee to represent the concerns of members and communities they care for.
 
The announcement comes as the State Government confirmed the opening of the first of 25 new urgent care clinics in Victoria, which were promised alongside 25 by the NSW State Government.
 
The new Priority Primary Care Centre (PPCC) was opened on Thursday in the Melbourne suburb of Epping and is designed to treat conditions such as fractures and burns. All patients will be bulk billed.
 
It is based in the existing Epping Plaza Medical & Dental Centre, and is open from 10 am – 8 pm, seven days a week.
 
The Andrews Government said the centres ‘will play a major part in easing the demand on busy emergency departments’.
 
Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas called it ‘huge boost to the system’ that will take pressure off local GPs and hospital departments.
 
At the time of the initial announcement, Dr Muñoz welcomed the state’s engagement with primary care but warned that the move must not come at the cost of providing usual general practice care.
 
The college has previously called for new urgent care centres to be based in existing general practice infrastructure.
 
‘We have been clear that practices must not be made financially vulnerable through their participation in these programs, and that urgent care clinics are not for delivering usual care that is best delivered by a patient’s own GP,’ Dr Muñoz told newsGP at the time.
 
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