No substitute for a good GP: doctors urge politicians to invest in general practice for NSW

GPs are the best medicine for New South Wales’ struggling health system – that's the message from doctors visiting the NSW Parliament today to call for investment to improve the health of communities across the state.  

Today, GPs are meeting with politicians to advocate for the health of their patients and communities, in a visit organised by the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP).  

RACGP NSW Chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman said: “New South Wales needs GPs more than ever – and every politician should understand the importance of general practice care for their community.  

“Over seven million people in New South Wales choose to see a GP for essential care each year. 

“But our population is ageing, and more people are living with chronic illness, which requires high-quality general practice care – three in four people in NSW had at least one long term condition in 2022, that’s over six million people.  

"Governments continue to pour billions into hospitals when the best investment is funding preventive care and management of chronic conditions by GPs in the community. NSW’s Chief Health Officer told the recent Inquiry into Healthcare Funding that more funding should go to preventing and managing chronic conditions.  

“There is no substitute for the quality care you get from a GP who knows you and your history – a strong general practice workforce is essential for New South Wales. 

“We’re calling on NSW to remove the barriers to GP training by providing an incentive payment to cover the pay cut GP registrars take when leaving hospital and starting private practice. Incentives work – there was a big increase in the number of GPs training in Victoria after their government offered an incentive of up to $40,000.  

“Alongside investing in general practice care, we’re calling on NSW politicians to rule out risky alternatives that jeopardise patient safety by allowing health workers without medical training to do the work of GPs. 

“We need to ensure GP care remains at the heart of New South Wales’ health system – this is what keeps people healthy, and out of hospital. And I look forward to meeting with politicians today to make clear that people in New South Wales deserve nothing less.” 

GPs are urging politicians to implement measures to grow the general practice workforce, and strengthen primary care to improve the health and wellbeing of people across New South Wales, including by: 

• funding incentive payments for GP registrars to do their training in NSW, and ensuring junior doctors get a taste of what it’s like to be a GP by training in a community practice to grow the state’s GP workforce. 

• ruling out the expansion of programs that jeopardise patient safety by allowing health workers without medical training to provide potentially complex healthcare that should be provided by specialist general practitioners. 

• improving health communications infrastructure to better support continuity of care and keep people out of hospital.