Single Employer Model

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (14:38): My question is to the Minister for Health. How will the 60 training places under the Single Employer Model be apportioned across the state, and can we have all of them?

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:38): Thank you very much for the question from the member for Narungga. The short answer is no—nice try. We will never doubt your advocacy for your particular local electorate.

A key part of this is going to be working with general practice. We need to make sure that we can get those places to where they are going to be the most use. We have some incredible general practices based in regional South Australia who already do a great job in terms of training future GPs, a number of whom have expressed their strong desire and interest to be part of this program. We have other areas, such as where the member for MacKillop was talking about earlier, where GPs and doctors are thin on the ground already.

So, clearly, to undertake this training, working with general practice, we need to use those experienced GPs who can help to do that training, but ultimately getting doctors through that pathway will inevitably help not just those areas that do have GPs but those areas that don't have GPs as well in enabling a future regional rural generalist workforce for the future.

All of our six local health networks based in regional South Australia are working together on this. Obviously, one of those six already has this in place, and then the other five will be distributing the places amongst themselves, a number of whom already have programs in place for the training of interns—first-year and second-year medical students coming through the system—but this will be an extension of that.

We announced it last week at country cabinet, not because that is going to be the predominant place where all these places go—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. C.J. PICTON: We will get a bidding competition—but because that is one of the places that will benefit from this. In the past two years, the Eyre and Far North Local Health Network have brought in interns and junior doctor programs in place in their hospital, which has been a great thing to see. That will enable them to take this next step to put this Single Employer Model workforce in place. We have to have the training in our hospitals, we have to have the training of our GPs, and this allows the two of them to connect.

There is a lot of work going on. I have to say I think particularly the Yorke and Northern region, which the electorate of Narungga is one part of, does have some considerable practices within it and I think there is a great opportunity for that region to see a number of these GPs coming through the system as we roll out this program.

I am happy as always to continue to work with the member for Narungga to make sure that we are seeing the ultimate benefit for his local electorate, but we will be maximising every opportunity where we have the criteria in terms of that infrastructure in place in terms of the trainers both in the hospital and the GPs to enable these places to go.