Developing innovative incentives to overcome General Practice workforce challenges
Workforce challenges have plagued many industries across the country. With the health sector being hit particularly hard the PHN has developed programs and scholarships to assist General Practice with recruiting, retaining and upskilling our health workforce.
Four new GPs join the Hunter, New England and Manning regions, following successful grant program
Following a successful grant offering, the PHN announced the arrival of four new general practitioners (GPs) to the Hunter, New England North West and Manning regions. The GPs have commenced employment in Muswellbrook, Gunnedah, Armidale and Taree.
The four new GPs have been recruited from Sydney, inter-state and internationally. The successful practices include Faulkner Street Medical Practice in Armidale, Barber Street Practice in Gunnedah, Brook Medical Centre in Muswellbrook and Horizon Skin Cancer and Medical Centre in Taree. The grant funding was provided to the practices to use towards the recruitment and retention of the new doctors.
HNECC PHN Chief Executive Officer, Richard Nankervis, said the PHN had collaborated with general practice across the region to develop an incentive program aimed at redressing the shortage of general practitioners. “Successful recruitment from the grant funding is a great accomplishment for the PHN and the general practices within the Hunter, New England, North West and Manning regions who have worked in partnership to ensure the funding opportunities were fully subscribed”.
Recruitment videos developed to assist health care practices to recruit and retain staff
The PHN has developed a suite of recruitment videos to assist all health care businesses with recruitment. The new recruitment resources provide a ‘how to guide’ on attracting potential candidates including writing job advertisements, where to advertise and how to retain current staff.
The three short videos are aimed at all health care businesses including General Practice and Allied Health, with all types of roles from administration staff to senior clinicians.
The PHN Chief Executive Officer, Richard Nankervis, said workforce availability and sustainability are emerging challenges across the region. “In consultation with current services providers, it is evident the lack of available, qualified staff is a major barrier to providing adequate services to meet demand.”
“To help mitigate this in the short to medium term, the PHN are implementing a number of methods of workforce attraction and retention that have been successfully trialed in other areas of the healthcare sector. These recruitment videos will support practices alongside our grant and professional development programs.”
$100,000 Scholarship for Cervical Screening Provided to Hunter New England General Practices
Forty-five rural and remote general practices across the Hunter New England region will receive a scholarship to complete the Well Women’s Screening Scholarships Project through Family Planning, thanks to $100,000 in funding from the Hunter New England Central Coast Primary Health Network (HNECC PHN).
Changes to cervical screening (introduced from 1 July 2022) mean that women can screen themselves within the practice setting. Forty-five nurses from 45 practices, initially in rural and remote regions from Cessnock to Tenterfield, will undergo the necessary training to facilitate the screening.
The PHN annual core needs assessment revealed ongoing GP workforce issues and restrictions implemented due to the pandemic, placed many cancer screening programs under temporary suspension. According to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, each month a nationally supported screening service was suspended, more than 140,000 people across the country missed or delayed their cervical screening.
Katie Ireland, Practice Manager at Northwest Health in Tamworth says her practice applied for the scholarship to get more nurses certified. “Northwest health has three practice locations, so having additional trained nurses provides options for patients in more locations.”
$8 Million injected into general practice through Strengthening Medicare Grants Program
More than eight million dollars has been provided to 339 general practices across the Hunter, New England and Central Coast regions, under the Commonwealth Government’s Strengthening Medicare Grants Program, being facilitated by the PHN.
90 per cent of General Practices (totaling 339 practices) applied for the grant offer in the first month, equating to $8,445,000 in funding for the region. The fully subscribed grant investment will total just under $10m.
The Program supports general practice by providing a one-off grant of between $25,000 and $50,000 (dependent on practice size) to each participating general practice. The grants can be used for investments in innovation, training, equipment, and minor capital works, to enhance digital health capabilities, upgrade infection prevention/control arrangements, or achieve accreditation.
HNECC PHN Chief Executive Officer, Richard Nankervis, said the grants are structured to allow practices to invest where the practice needs it most. “We’re pleased to see the high rate of applications across the region, as we know these grants will provide vital support and upgrades to general practices. The funding is timely given many practices are still recovering from the significant impacts of the pandemic on patient care and practice systems.
Kristy Cartwright, Practice Manager of Health In Abundance, Medowie, is delighted to receive the grant funding. “We are very excited to be receiving the grant, which we are using towards IT, specifically, a software upgrade. The upgrade will allow us to change to a more interoperable medical software program which integrates with more services, streamlining our workflow and easing the burden on practice staff.”
The Australian Government is investing $220 million in grants, over two years from 2022-2024 to support general practices. The purpose of the Program is to provide funding to general practices to expand patient access and support safe, accessible and quality primary care.