The federal government's $550 million plan to boost the number of health professionals in rural, regional and remote communities includes the opening of a medical school in Dubbo next year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The University of Sydney will run the medical school from existing facilities in Moran Drive.
It will open in 2021 and be at full capacity with 96 students by 2024.
READ ALSO:
Federal Member for Parkes and Minister for Regional Services Mark Coulton has identified some of the components of the plan in response to calls by residents of Dubbo for more GPs.
They followed the release of data by the Bureau of Health Information including a 71.6 per cent jump in non-urgent presentations at Dubbo Hospital's Emergency Department in the July to September 2019 quarter.
Mr Coulton said the government through the Department of Health funded programs which provided incentives to doctors to move to and remain working in regional, rural and remote Australia.
"The government has also delivered the Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network at a number of key locations across rural NSW and Victoria, which includes the University of Sydney's full rural medical school program in Dubbo," the minister said.
"The network allows students in Dubbo and across the Central West region to complete the majority of their training within the local area and has been backed by the community and the medical profession in Dubbo."
Mr Coulton said the government was transforming medical training in the regions through the National Rural Generalist Pathway, designed to "attract, retain and support" doctors who provided primary care and specialist services.
The minister said Dubbo was classified as a Distribution Priority Area for GPs.
"..meaning practices in the area can recruit from a larger pool of doctors including international medical graduates and bonded medical program participants," he said.
Mr Coulton said programs that could "attract health workforce staff to the Dubbo area" included the More Doctors for Rural Australia Program and Rural Bulk Billing Incentives.
"We currently have an adequate amount of doctors in Australia, however there are challenges with the distribution of the health workforce, particularly in rural and remote areas," he said.
