With the announcement of the Federal Election, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) calls on all parties and candidates to commit to policies to ensure rural and remote communities have equitable access to the high-quality, locally based healthcare services they need and deserve.

The College is calling for national leadership that will restore the value proposition for rural general practice which is locally based and fit for purpose to meet the needs of people living outside the urban footprint.  This includes ongoing funding, leadership, and support for recognition of the National Rural Generalist Pathway.

ACRRM President Dr Sarah Chalmers says Rural Generalists are committed to what they do.

“It’s time they are given the support and incentives that recognise the unique skills they draw on every day,” she says.

“Our rural and remote medical workforce, and their communities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities deserve no less.”

Dr Chalmers outlines the key ACRRM election priorities:

  • Growing the Rural Generalist Workforce as a rural healthcare solution by providing national leadership which enables Rural Generalists to support rural and remote communities with the broad range of high quality, locally based healthcare services they need and deserve.
  • Building strong, resilient and sustainable healthcare services within rural and remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities by funding healthcare resources and services within rural and remote communities and supporting bespoke solutions which reflect the needs of the community.
  • Restoring the value proposition of rural general practice by redirecting healthcare funding towards comprehensive primary care and addressing barriers to rural and remote training and practice.
  • Driving intergovernmental solutions which deliver high quality, accessible healthcare services for rural and remote Australians by leading a nationally coordinated approach which sets and upholds acceptable minimum standards of healthcare access for all Australians, wherever they live.

“ACRRM is committed to training and supporting the right doctors with the right skills in the right places delivering high quality healthcare,” Dr Chalmers adds.

“We are focussed on this vision, and we call on all political parties and election candidates to express a similar commitment through policies which deliver targeted rural and remote incentives, workforce support and training."

ENDS

For more information on ACRRM's election priorities, please click here.

For further information, please contact communications manager Petrina Smith at p.smith@acrrm.org.au, 0414 820 847 or 1800 223 226.

ABOUT ACRRM

The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine is the only College in Australia entirely dedicated to training and supporting rural General Practitioners to serve rural and remote communities.

Our vision is to have the right doctors, in the right places, with the right skills, providing rural and remote people with excellent health care.

For more information, visit acrrm.org.au.