More support and new opportunities for our health workforce

Health reform will provide more support and new opportunities for people working in the health system.

The Government is introducing the following improvements for the health workforce:

Higher standards for health care

As part of the health reforms the Australian Government will impose strong, national standards for health care services to ensure that every patient, whether they live in the city or the country, has access to the same standard of care.

New transparent reporting requirements will also be introduced, to provide Australians with more information than ever before about the national, state and local performance of the health system.

To find out more about the strong national standards for the health system see A National Health and Hospitals Network for Australia’s Future.

Local hospitals will work in local networks

The new health system will reduce duplication and improve efficiencies by being funded nationally and managed locally. New Local Hospital Networks will be established, made up of small groups of local hospitals that work together, to give local clinicians and health experts a greater say in the decisions that affect their area. This will increase local autonomy and flexibility so that services are more innovative and responsive to local needs.

The networks will work collaboratively to manage their budget and performance to deliver high quality patient care in the local community. Each network will be paid on the basis of a national efficient price for each public hospital service they provide to public patients, as part of agreements with each state and territory government.

Further information about Local Hospital Networks is available in A National Health and Hospitals Network for Australia’s Future.

More training for more health professionals

The Australian Government is taking action to reduce shortages facing the health workforce, to expand capacity and deliver better health outcomes for all Australians. We need more health professionals, especially in rural, regional and remote areas, to meet the increasing demands of the ageing population and changing burden of disease.

The Government will invest $640 million over the next four years to train a record number of doctors. There will be 1,375 more GPs practicing, or in training, by 2013 and 5,500 GPs undergoing training in the next decade. The number of places for medical students to train as GPs will double, from 600 in 2007 to 1,200 per year by 2014, to meet the demands of communities in the future. An expanded Australian Government programs will train an additional 680 specialist doctors over the next decade. More information is available in the Workforce: Doctors fact sheet.

To increase the number of nurses in rural and aged care the Government will also invest $128.4 million. This funding will establish a Rural Nursing Locum Scheme, expand aged care nursing training, provide incentives for aged care workers to upskill, and support the uptake of Nurse Practitioners in aged care. To find out more see the Supporting nurses to stay in the workforce fact sheet.
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Integrated GP and primary care

The Australian Government will invest $355.2 million for up to 23 new GP Super Clinics and to upgrade around 425 general practices, primary care and community health services, and Aboriginal Medical Services to improve access to integrated GP and primary health care.

GPs, nurses and allied health professionals will be able to work in an integrated, multidisciplinary team and benefit from flexible working arrangements, inter-professional training and shared administration arrangements.

Clinical training facilities will provide education and multidisciplinary training for medical, nursing and allied health professional students, GP trainees and registrars.

Upgrades to existing facilities will improve their capacity to deliver team based care.

In 2010-11, funding for the Primary Care Infrastructure Grants, which can be used to upgrade and expand general practices, primary health care and community health services, and Aboriginal Medical Services will be offered through a competitive national grant round. Application documents are now available, including details on how to apply and the selection process for the funding.

To find out more about GP Super Clinics please see the investing in primary care infrastructure – including GP Super Clinics fact sheet.

Support for the rural, regional and remote health workforce

We need more health professionals in rural, regional and remote areas, to meet the increasing demands of the ageing population. The Government is addressing the doctor shortages in these areas by providing a $6 million expansion of the rural clinical placement scholarships from 1 July 2010 to provide an extra 100 places a year for allied health students to complete placements in a rural area.

Supporting practice nurses

An additional $390.3 million over four years will be provided to support a broader and more flexible role for practice nurses under the Practice Nurse Incentives Program (PNIP).

Accredited general practices and Aboriginal Medical Services will be eligible for an incentive to offset the costs of employing a practice nurse.

The incentives will be $25,000 per full time GP for a Registered Nurse and $12,500 per full time GP for an Enrolled Nurse in recognition of the different skills of Registered Nurses and Enrolled Nurses. The program will be capped at five incentives, meaning that accredited practices will be eligible to receive up to $125,000 to support their practice nursing workforce.

To find out more about how the Government is supporting practice nurses please see the Supporting practice nurses fact sheet.

Professionalising the aged care workforce

The Government will invest $310 million over the next four years to develop a better trained aged care workforce. This will improve the care older Australians receive and underpin the sustainability of our aged care system as Australia’s population ages.

The Government will shift the focus of workforce programs to improving clinical care. This will more closely match sector workforce requirements, assist recruitment and retention and help to create career paths in aged care.

To find out more about how the Government is professionalising the aged care workforce please see the Building a National Aged Care System: Professionalising the aged care workforce fact sheet.

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