It's been an issue for many years, and the Federal Health department finally agrees - Parkes needs help to secure doctors.
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The Australian Government Department of Health recently designated Parkes as a Distribution Priority Area (DPA) for general practitioners (GPs), due to the severe shortage in the region.
A DPA signifies that a town needs additional support to recruit doctors, and the status allows GPs to be recruited from a larger pool (including overseas), and at higher salaries.
Parkes hasn't been classified as a priority area for the last two years; and with many residents waiting a month on average for an appointment, and some nursing home residents struggling to secure a face-to-face consultation, it's clear this is a big issue.
Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM told the ABC Central West last week that the town is really suffering from a lack of GPs.
"By not having a DPA status the town has been disadvantaged for years," he said last week.
"It will be important that we can now attract doctors at that higher pay grade that the DPA status provides...we are still very desperate for additional GPs after a number of retirements."
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Clearly one of the most important recruitment pools is overseas doctors - and the DPA designation is a big help in Parkes potentially drawing from that.
International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who specialise in General Practice are required to work in a DPA in order to obtain a Medicare Provider Number.
An area, like Parkes, that has been classified as a DPA for GPs has been assessed as not receiving adequate GP services for the needs of that population and an IMG can help with that.
DPA is calculated by comparing the actual level of GP services provided to a GP catchment with the level of services the same community should receive if they were receiving benchmark level GP Services.
The benchmark(s) for each GP catchment are determined based on the composition of their communities, considering their demographics, including their age, sex and Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA).
Given the region hasn't been able to recruit more doctors despite the impending retirements on the horizon, it is desperately hoped the DPA will bring in some high quality practitioners who can make all of our lives better.
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