Extra support for rural GPs
The Commonwealth Government has increased training support in emergency medicine procedures for procedural GPs practising in the bush.
The increased assistance will be available as part of the Training for Rural and Remote Procedural GPs Program, which supports rural and remote GPs doing procedural work that specialists carry out in urban areas.
The emergency medicine component has been expanded to include RRMA 3 locations which includes large rural centres such as Lismore, Toowoomba, Dubbo, Wagga, Bendigo, Ballarat and Whyalla. At the same time, the maximum number of days supported each year will increase from two to three. These measures will be backdated to 1 January 2007.
As well, the maximum value of all grants has increased from $1,500 per day to $2,000 per day.
The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners will continue to assess GPs and training activity eligibility for the program. Payments to GPs will be administered by Medicare Australia.
