We’re extending a warm welcome to our new registrar GPs – Dr Samantha Thomas and Dr Neeta Pramanik who’ve joined our practice to complete their general practice training. You can read more about Sam and Neeta here on our site at Meet your doctors.

Queen Street Medical Centre sits at the forefront of vocational training – a commitment to supporting doctors at all stages of their training which continues to attract GPs and their families to our region, at a time when it has never been more difficult to recruit GPs. We know general practice is under considerable pressure and facing many challenges. New federal Health Minister Mark Butler says primary care is “in worse shape than it’s been in the entire Medicare era” and has made it his top health priority (The Conversation 23 Aug).

Writing in The Conversation, Gratton Institutes’s Peter Breadon reports “After decades of neglect, there are many problems to fix. Clinics often don’t have the right mix of staff, collaborating with specialists and hospitals is difficult, data systems are fragmented, and there are parts of Australia with poor access to care.

Read more: Labor’s health package won’t ‘strengthen’ Medicare unless it includes these 3 things

A new taskforce will advise the minister on how to spend A$750 million to improve access, chronic disease management, and affordability. One issue the taskforce must consider is how GP clinics are funded. While a simple boost to fees might be welcomed by practices, it can’t deliver the better access, quality, and affordability that Labor has promised. Australia’s approach has outlived it’s used-by date.”

Peter Breadon, Program Director, Health and Aged Care, Gratton Institute