The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) welcomes the announcement today by the Federal Government to streamline the process for teaching, training and retaining the next generation of health workers in rural, regional and remote Australia.
The Government has moved to streamline the former Rural and Regional Training Infrastructure Grants program to better respond to the needs of rural communities and support the work of rural general practices.
The Assistant Minister for Rural Health Dr David Gillespie announced the new Rural General Practice Grants (RGPG) program which will provide a more streamlined and simplified two-step application process.
RACGP President Dr Bastian Seidel who recently met with Minister Gillespie in his rural Tasmanian practice said the changes to the program will provide easier access for rural, regional and remote practices to significant funding grants to help provide greater training and supervision opportunities for the next generation of health workers.
“I congratulate the Minister on the announcement of the new RGPG program which will support our rural communities in developing better health outcomes long term for their patients,” he said.
“This is exactly the role of government - supporting GPs in providing world class healthcare - in any community, including rural and regional centres.”
RACGP Rural Chair, Dr Ayman Shenouda also commended the announcement, saying access to quality health services should be available to all Australians no matter where they live.
For further information visit the Department of Health website.