Summary
Date: 7 January 2022
The RACGP has released its 2022-23 pre-budget submission. The submission recommends that the federal government:
- provide funding to support regular, continuous and preventive care for people over the age of 65, people with mental health conditions and people with disability
- invest in longer general practice consultations to support complex care
- reinstitute phone consultations for long consultations, mental health and GP management plans as part of the permanent telehealth model
- introduce a GP follow-up consultation within seven days of an unplanned hospital admission to reduce unplanned hospital readmissions
- strengthen rural healthcare by:
- increasing Workforce Incentive Programs with additional payments for those doctors who use additional advanced skills in rural areas scaled to rurality
- providing access to relevant speciality MBS items when a GP holds advanced skills in internal medicine, mental health, paediatrics, palliative care and/or emergency, in a rural area.
The RACGP also supports the Uluru Statement of the Heart and Closing the Gap and calls for government action in providing a voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Parliament of Australia and investing in equality in health and life expectancy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.