Peterborough Health Services

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Stuart—Minister for Local Government, Minister for Regional Roads, Minister for Veterans Affairs) (14:22): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Can the minister advise my constituents living in Peterborough how they will be able to see a GP for medical service and advice and prescriptions? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.G. BROCK: On 8 August, the current medical clinic, Goyder's Line Medical clinic, who operate clinics at Jamestown and Orroroo (and at that stage at Peterborough), have now closed the Peterborough clinic, resulting in the Peterborough community having no medical clinic for GP advice or prescriptions.

The Hon. C.J. PICTON (Kaurna—Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:23): I thank the member for Stuart for his question and for his passion in relation to this issue in particular, and also the advocacy that he has displayed since this issue came to light.

For many years, the Goyder's Line clinic, who are predominantly based in Jamestown, have provided services to the Peterborough area and have done so exceptionally well and I really want to thank Goyder's Line for the work that they do across the Mid North community. Unfortunately, they have had to make a decision. They have outlined that due to the lack of doctors and being unable to attract GP registrars to their practice, that has meant that they have had to withdraw services from the Peterborough area.

That is obviously of significant concern to people who live in Peterborough. It is also, of course, a concern to the state government, even though we do not regulate or provide those GP services—they are done through the federal government and the Medicare system.

We are in regular contact with the federal government. This is something I have raised with the federal minister, but also with the primary health care network as well, and I know the member for Stuart has also done so and has displayed local leadership in asking to bring together all the parties to have a round table focused on this issue in terms of what can be done.

From our perspective, and particularly in terms of local health services, the Yorke and Northern Local Health Network, we are leaning in to see what work that we can do to try to encourage GPs to re-establish services in the Peterborough district and we are currently examining if there's a number of different ways in which we could provide support for that to happen.

Of course, in the interim, our responsibility being to provide public hospital services, we have had to step in in terms of being able to bring in locum coverage for the Peterborough hospital to make sure that hospital can continue to provide services for the community. But we will keep working with the federal government and the primary healthcare network to examine all potential options for a long-term solution for the Peterborough district, and of course working with the Rural Doctors Workforce Agency and others to do so.

As I outlined, I think on Tuesday in relation to a question from the member for Mount Gambier, we are also being very active as a state government in this predominantly federal area in terms of what we can do around supporting GP training. The good news is that we have a record high number of GP registrars in training programs in South Australia at the moment. That is a fully subscribed program across the state, but we are also taking additional steps to bring in the Single Employer Model which is now rolling out in the Mid North, as it is right across the state, following the successful work that we have done in the Riverland in that very innovative model.

So that is one measure. The other measure that we are working on with all the other health ministers across the country is to fast-track being able to recruit doctors, predominantly from the UK, who want to come and work in South Australia and Australia more broadly. That has had some success already and we will continue to pursue that with partners such as the Rural Doctors Workforce Agency and others.

Of course, we continue to provide a range of other supports such as virtual care to support regional communities as well, but we really want to see an increased pipeline of doctors being trained in this country. I do welcome the fact that the Albanese government as part of their successful re-election campaign has committed to increasing medical places in our universities. People may not realise that that is one area of our universities where the federal government has a cap on the number of places that is allowed for doctors to be trained. Lifting that cap to a higher level is absolutely essential to make sure that we have got that supply coming down the line, because there are a lot of incredibly bright Australians who would like to become doctors but cannot get into universities.