Delegates at the Nationals’ Federal Conference carried a motion yesterday, Sunday 16 September, supporting Charles Sturt University’s proposal to establish a new medical school to address chronic shortages of doctors in rural and regional Australia.

 

Charles Sturt University (CSU) Vice-Chancellor and President of, Professor Andrew Vann, said, “We welcome this very public commitment by the Nationals to the establishment of a new medical school at Charles Sturt University.

 

“The endorsement of the Nationals is important to show the government that rural and regional Australians are united behind this very important initiative.

 

“This follows news this week that more than 21 000 Australians have signed up on Facebook as supporters of Charles Sturt University’s planned medical school.

 

“While we remain hopeful that the current Government will fund this initiative in the next federal Budget, it is important for rural and regional communities to know that the Nationals are committed to this initiative.

 

“I think there is a growing recognition across all political parties of the serious impact that the rural doctor shortage has on the lives of families and individuals in our communities.

 

“There also appears to be an increased awareness that people will not live in rural towns, let alone move here, if they can’t get access to a doctor when they need one.

 

“The commitment by the Nationals follows mounting evidence that current rural medical education strategies are not working, and that we need to focus more of our resources on rurally-based and delivered programs if we are serious about addressing rural doctor shortages.

 

“For example, a cross-party Senate Inquiry into rural medical workforce shortages reported in August this year that city medical schools had consistently failed to meet minimum recruitment targets for rural medical students, despite all the evidence that a rural doctor is significantly more likely to have come from a rural area and been trained in a rural area.

 

“I think most rural people will find it disappointing that some city medical schools have accepted funding to recruit rural medical students, but consistently failed to do so. 

 

“Rural Health Workforce Australia has also recently reported that after more than a decade of predominantly city-operated rural medical education programs fewer than five per cent of Australia’s medical graduates are entering rural practice, despite claims that these programs would help solve the rural doctor shortage.

 

“At the same time, the Senate Inquiry found significant evidence that training rural students in rural Australia would lead to substantially more Australian medical graduates working in rural and regional areas.

 

“The Senate Inquiry noted that the majority of Charles Sturt University’s on-campus health students come from rural and regional areas, and most go on to work in rural and regional areas after graduation.

 

“The Senate Inquiry also acknowledged the strong performance of Australia’s only full regionally-based medical school at James Cook University in getting more doctors into rural and regional practice.

 

“Based on the evidence, the Senate Inquiry recommended to the Government the establishment of a new rurally-based medical school at Charles Sturt University.

 

“Charles Sturt University’s proposed solution to the rural doctor shortage is not only supported by a wealth of national and international evidence, it has the overwhelming support of rural and regional Australians,” Professor Vann said.