Anna Patty wrote a piece in The Sydney Morning Herald at the beginning of the year, forecasting an oversupply of doctors expected to emerge in Australia as early as late 2017.
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She said a failed bid by the federal Department of Health to end the importation of all overseas medicos is to blame for the inevitable doctor glut.
The department also identified a growing mismatch between the number of domestic medical graduates and the availability of vocational training opportunities.
The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection decided against the department’s submission calling for the removal of all medical occupations from the Skilled Occupation List early last year.
They included GPs, anaesthetists, neurologists, cardiologists and endocrinologists. The submission itself is a slap in the face for understaffed regional hospitals in locations such as West Wyalong.
With such an abundance of medical professionals coming from overseas and out of our schools, how are medical boards like Murrumbidgee Local Health District struggling to maintain a full staff?
The answer to the question is simple – despite the growing competition for jobs and opportunities for medical graduates in the city, regional hospitals can’t entice and retain professionals for an extended tenure.
There is a possibility a glut of doctors will see professionals seep into the more isolated hospitals throughout the nation.
Politicians are certainly aware of the issue.
Our own member and former Health Minster Sussan Ley said through a spokesperson the government has, "noted and is further examining projections and estimates suggesting a looming oversupply of doctors."
"The medical workforce comprises a wide range of specialties and while there might be an emerging aggregate oversupply, there are some specialties where shortages persist especially in some regions …”
But the huge disparity between city and regional demand for doctors makes it glaringly obvious regional hospitals are not getting the government help they need.
That is unless the plan is to have facilities and services consolidated to cater for the staff losses.
Overseas-educated and trained medical staff was a short-term solution to an overall shortage of medical professionals at the turn of the century.
But while the cities have recovered, the bush continues to suffer.
