Labor has countered recent moves by the Federal Government to address the GP crisis in Wyong-Gorokan, Toukley-Budgewoi, saying it will extend plans to manage the crisis out to suburbs in and around Bateau Bay and The Entrance.
Suburbs across the north of the Coast have long suffered a shortage of GPs, partly owing to a piece of policy that prevented medical practices in the area recruiting Doctors who have been trained overseas.
GPs and medical centres have long argued that there were not enough Australian students being trained to become Doctors, and that they were reliant on international medical practitioners.
The policy, entitled “distribution priority area” or “DPA” for short, in previous years applied to Wyong, Gorokan, Toukley and Budgewoi, and it allowed surgeries to recruit doctors trained overseas to relieve their shortages.
More recently, the DPA status for these areas in need was revoked by the Federal Government.
“This change to policy had a catastrophic effect to our local community,” said Dr Shamila Beattie who runs a practice in Blue Haven.
Last week the government reinstated the DPA status for Wyong-Gorokan, Toukley-Budgewoi after a long battle by GPs that resulted in Senate hearings last December.
Central Coast Community Women’s Health Centre CEO Theresa Mason said that the change was very much welcomed.
“With the opening of the international borders we are hopeful that more GPs will migrate to Australia to help fill the many vacancies across the Central Coast.
“We are also hopeful that overseas trained GPs currently residing in Australia will be attracted to the Central Coast and consider a sea change,” she said.
However, despite the good news, The Entrance and Bateau Bay were excluded from the adjustment to the policy.
At a press conference held at The Entrance on Friday, February 4, Emma McBride MP, Pat Conroy MP and Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing Ged Kearney MP, revealed that, if elected, they would extend the DPA status to forgotten suburbs in and around Bateau Bay and The Entrance.
“The Morrison Government has spent years denying the crisis they helped create through changes to the DPA indicator, and only yesterday took baby steps to rectify their mistakes by making small parts of the region a DPA.
“Labor understands this crisis isn’t just restricted to Wyong and Toukley,” Labor said in a statement.
DPA status already exists for the southern end of the Coast.
Nicola Riches
Everyone blames the current government. This is a mistake, look at who is doing the advising to our leaders and you will find this is where the problem begins. The TV show ” Yes Minister ” is a true vue of the problem. Unfortunately, this applies to our government. Get rid of the old heads of departments and get decent management.
Mr Madell has a very romantic view of how government works in Australia. All Ministers in Canberra have political advisors who are recruited from the Young Liberals and the Institute of Public Affairs. These organisations provide the training ground for the ideologically motivated shenanigans which are delaying the Liberal Party preselectons in Dobell, Hughes and Parramatta.