The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has today called on government to help GPs improve mental healthcare in the bush so that no patients are left behind.
It comes following James Cook University releasing a new
study showing that patients living outside of Australia’s cities experience higher rates of attempted and completed suicide, worse mental health and greater barriers to accessing mental healthcare.
RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins said that GPs were crucial to improving mental healthcare outside of metro areas.
“More must be done to improve mental health outcomes in rural and remote areas,” she said.
“The solutions are right in front of us, we just need the political will to make it happen. In our Pre-Budget
submission a few months ago we
called for a series of timely reforms that would make an enormous difference for patient care, including for people in rural and remote areas experiencing mental health issues. We believe an increase Medicare rebates for longer consultations, the creation of a new Medicare item for GP consultations longer than 60 minutes, as well as support for longer telehealth phone consultations lasting more than 20 minutes, and increased investment in rural healthcare are all sorely needed to arrest the nation’s mental health crisis.
“Following the Budget, we warmly welcomed the $143.3 million investment in funding for healthcare in rural and remote areas, but we have a long way to go. By boosting Medicare rebates, we can support longer consultations so that GPs have the time to get the bottom of what is really going on. As things stand, we have everything back to front, because patient rebates decrease the longer a person spends with their GP.
“This is not new; in fact, we have been calling for change for many years. In our
submission to the draft 10 Year Plan we stressed that high-quality care offered by GPs is at risk if substantial reform does not take place. In addition, the MBS Review General Practice and Primary Care Clinical Committee backed a substantive increase to Medicare rebates more than three years ago. So, let’s make it happen because right now rural and remote areas need more care and support to boost mental health outcomes and I won’t rest until that happens.”
RACGP Rural Chair Associate Professor Michael Clements echoed Dr Higgins’ comments.
“We must do more to boost mental healthcare in the bush,” he said.
“GPs are often the first port of call for many people with mental health issues and outside of metro areas GPs play a particularly important role in helping these patients given there is often a dearth of other specialists including psychiatrists as well as psychologists. Even if patients can obtain a referral and are willing to pay to see another specialist, they often face a long drive to access the services they need. That is why we must be given a helping hand to do even more to help those with mental health concerns, including in the rural and remote areas.
“Patients know and trust their GP, so we are the ones who can help people first talk about mental health issues they are experiencing and, just as importantly, help guide them on what to do next. However, we are limited by the fact that Medicare rebates have not kept pace with the cost of providing care and there are only so many hours in a day. So, if government is serious about arresting poor mental health outcomes in rural and remote areas, we must equip GPs to help those in need. Let’s get this done without delay, there is too much at stake to kick the can down the road.”