A MODEL of healthcare targeting doctor shortages in the region will hang in the balance until the federal government begins a selection process.
The Murrumbidgee single employer model, sees junior doctors employed by the districts to improve the attractiveness of a career in general practice, and the distribution and retention of GPs in regional, rural and remote areas.
The government is establishing up to ten trials of the model, and plans to seek expressions of interest from states in early 2023.
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"There are no predefined expectations of the size and scope of each trial," federal minister for health and aged care Mark Butler said in a letter to state regional health minister Bronnie Taylor.
Five districts in NSW, including Hunter New England, have been identified as areas where the model could be implemented.
But NSW is able to take on even more doctors to work in that model, Ms Taylor said following the third Bilateral Regional Health Forum, which was held in Tamworth on Friday.
The Forum was established in 2019 to support the health needs of people in rural, regional and remote NSW. It has previously been held in Wagga and Dubbo.
The federal government is keen to work with NSW Health to target workforce shortages, Ms Taylor said.
Federal rural and regional health assistant minister Emma McBride agreed the commonwealth is "determined" to change the health outcomes for people in regional Australia.
The Strengthening Medicare taskforce will meet for the sixth time on December 13, to discuss recommendations to Medicare which will flow on to the budget, Ms McBride said.
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Eva Baxter
Eva is a Northern Daily Leader journalist based in Tamworth. She covers health, politics, energy, arts & entertainment, business, community, and a bit of everything else.
Eva is a Northern Daily Leader journalist based in Tamworth. She covers health, politics, energy, arts & entertainment, business, community, and a bit of everything else.
