GP-owned general practice incentive could open doors for long-term workforce growth
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) is welcoming today’s announcement outlining how the Labour Party intend to support doctors to see more patients, specifically the “Family Doctor Loan Scheme” proposal that acknowledges the vital role that GPs and GP-owned general practices play across the health sector.
Throughout this year there has been an increased focus on the value of general practice and the wider primary care sector, along with suite of changes that will have a positive impact on the workforce. The over-arching goal across the political spectrum is to ensure patients have timely access to their GP when they need it. However, achieving these goals is dependent on training more GPs and to do this, there needs to be a continued and targeted focus on showing the specialisation of general practice as a rewarding and attractive career.
The “Family Doctor Loan Scheme” would provide financial incentives, in the form of low-interest loans, for GPs to buy into an existing general practice or establish a new practice.
College President Dr Luke Bradford says, “GP owners undertake a huge amount of discretionary work in service to their communities and alongside their clinical care including leadership and governance, the ongoing operational aspects of running a practice, and helping to maintain a pipeline and route into ownership for our younger doctors. Having acknowledgement of this work is gratifying and will go a long way to attracting more doctors into this profession.
“General practice is a phenomenal career. This step, if it comes into effect, would remove barriers and encourage more doctors into leadership roles while also allowing us to compete with other medical specialities for trainees.”
This policy proposal recognises that the increasing corporatisation of general practice in Aotearoa New Zealand does not have patients’ best interests at the centre of its decision-making, instead favouring profits over service.
“By changing the narrative and showcasing general practice ownership as a positive and more achievable option, our current and future GPs would have the opportunity to combine leadership and continuity of care, and it would also help create a more sustainable general practice workforce,” says Dr Bradford.
