New GPs making a ‘vital difference’ in the NT

From Darwin to Alice Springs, Katherine, and some of Australia’s most remote communities, the Northern Territory’s healthcare system is set to benefit from a new group of GPs officially joining the profession.
 
The RACGP welcomed the new Fellows as specialist GPs at a  ceremony at Darwin’s Parliament House this month.
 
RACGP Northern Territory Chair Dr Sam Heard said the GPs will make a ‘vital difference’ to their communities.
 
‘They will provide invaluable care to patients, in cities like Darwin and Alice Springs, and also regional and remote parts of the Territory,’ he said.
 
‘Ask any GP in the Territory or across Australia, and they will tell you that every day is a new opportunity to help people in your community.
 
‘I’m glad to report that the RACGP is achieving great success bringing GPs in training to rural and remote areas where they are needed most, and this will help to boost our non-urban GP workforce in the Territory.’
 
The Fellowship ceremony also named Dr Hang Murphy the Territory’s RACGP GP of the Year.
 
Dr Murphy was celebrated for her work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthcare and, despite being the only full-time GP at her practice, attending many workshops and courses to provide the most up-to-date care possible.
 
She was also awarded for her work supervising students, and her work in her special interest area of using household hygiene to prevent skin sores that can lead to rheumatic heart disease.
 
The new GPs come as the Northern Territory, as with the rest of Australia, is suffering from a critical lack of doctors.
 
A recent Supply and Demand Study: General Practitioners in Australia report found the supply of GPs is not keeping up with growing demand, and it is the Northern Territory which has the most unmet need.
 
In response, RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins said boosting the GP workforce must be a priority.
 
‘As the peak GP body responsible for training 90% of GPs across Australia, including the Northern Territory, we’re working harder than ever to ensure all communities have access to quality care from a GP they know and trust,’ she said.
 
‘So, it’s vital governments and regulators do everything possible to back us to succeed and let us focus on what we do best – caring for our patients.’
 
The ceremony was also attended by the Northern Territory’s new Health Minister Steven Edgington.
 
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Fellowship FRACGP new Fellows Northern Territory regional workforce