The AMA is calling on the Federal Government to urgently release its Primary Health Care 10-Year Plan, which appears to have been dumped, despite over two years of development and significant input from stakeholders.
Developed in 2019, the national Primary Health Care 10- Year Plan aims to strengthen and modernise Australia's primary health care system.
More than 400 organisations, including the AMA, have worked closely with the Government's own steering committee over the past two-and-a-half years on this initiative to help reform the delivery of general practice and primary care for those with complex health needs.
AMA President, Dr Omar Khorshid, said the Government had relied on the hard work of general practice throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and GPs would feel completely betrayed by these decisions. He stated that the Government failed to deliver the reform and support necessary to equip GPs into the future represented a major policy backflip.
"Long term funding quarantined for general practice and primary care reform has been cut and a broadly supported vision for general practice and primary care dumped," he said.
"While the Government rightly put the implementation of the Voluntary Patient Enrolment model on hold at the start of the pandemic, there was a clear promise that funding to support its implementation would be retained and used to reform the delivery of care in general practice.
"This included supporting Australians to register with their general practice and nominate their usual GP, opening up access to enhanced services, through the new Voluntary Patient Enrolment model," Dr Khorshid said.
"Improved access to general practice will be a key election issue for the AMA and both major parties need to clearly outline their plans to future-proof general practice and ensure it is adequately funded going forward," Dr Khorshid added.
Full media release can be accessed here.
