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Single Employer Model expanded in Queensland
A new four-year pilot will see the State Government employ 60 GP trainees, giving them entitlements akin to those training in a hospital.
The Queensland town of Mackay is among the regions taking part in the four-year trial.
In an effort to attract more GPs to rural and regional Queensland and improve access to local health services, the State Government has announced it will be trialling a new Single Employer Model (SEM) program for graduates.
Commencing this month, the trial will see up to 60 full-time equivalent GP and rural generalist trainees become salaried employees of the State Government. This will mean a guaranteed income, as well as entitlements similar to those received by doctors training in hospital settings, including annual, parental and sick leave.
This means that with every new general practice placement, trial participants will not be required to change employers every six to 12 months.
It is also hoped the program will encourage trainees to build connections with the local community, and to consider a future in rural or regional medicine.
The model is gaining momentum across Australia, with SEM trials operating across five states – Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, and Queensland.
Federal Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler said he is looking forward to working alongside the State Government to make training and working in rural general practice a ‘more attractive option’ for young doctors.
‘We want to attract more doctors to regional Queensland and this innovative approach will help to retain the doctors we need to continue to provide essential primary healthcare services to Queenslanders,’ he said.
‘Importantly, it will make it easier for people in regional Queensland to see a doctor close to home.’
However, RACGP Queensland Chair, Dr Cath Hester, told newsGP that while she is grateful the Federal Government is working to attract more doctors to regional Queensland, questions remain about the program’s rollout.
‘We would like to see further clarity about exactly how this program will interact with the on-the-ground reality of training in Queensland,’ she said.
‘We have seen several similar pilot programs running in the state in previous years, we need to know what was learnt from those and how this new trial will bring that knowledge together.
‘We are also calling on the Queensland Government to further encourage GPs in training into the state – we want to see a commitment to equal pay and entitlements compared to their hospital-based training.’
While the Federal Government says the new trial follows positive feedback from both trainee and general practice participants from previous, similar trials, it has yet to outline exactly what that feedback was.
Meanwhile, the National report on the 2024 National Registrar Survey, released just last week, revealed that 55% of GP registrars are earning less money as trainees than in their last year working in a pre-vocational hospital position.
The new program will see participants based in the following regions in Queensland:
- Northern Region: Cairns and Hinterland, Townsville, Mackay, North West, Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Services (HHSs)
- Central Region: Central West, Sunshine Coast, Wide Bay, Central Queensland, Metro North HHSs
- Southern Region: South West, Darling Downs, West Moreton, Gold Coast and Metro South HHSs
Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls welcomed investment into the trial, acknowledging that medical workforce recruitment and retention ‘remain a critical challenge’ for rural and remote communities across the state.
‘Over the span of this four-year trial, access to medical skills including obstetrics and anaesthetics will be improved in small rural communities across Queensland,’ he said.
‘This will support ongoing access to primary care services and the sustainability of birthing services, a core component of the Crisafulli Government’s Easier Access to Health Services Plan.’
In the 2024–25 Budget, the Federal Government
included plans to extend active SEM trials until 31 December 2028.
newsGP has contacted the Department of Health and Aged Care for comment.
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