• $26.4 million for $40,000 GP training incentive.

• $1 million for GP Community Residency Program.

• $10 million training fund for high-demand specialists.

• $60 million for free post-discharge GP visits.

• $5 million for GP upskilling for ADHD co-prescribing.

The WA Liberals have a bold $140 million plan for immediate and long-term solutions to WA’s general practitioner and paediatrician shortages and to address the high number of unplanned readmissions to hospital following discharge.  

WA Liberal Leader and Shadow Health Minister, Libby Mettam said the policy would facilitate the placement of up to 150 Resident Medical Officers into accredited general practices across the state. “Currently, only 10 per cent of medical students are considering a career in general practice and that is not nearly to meet demand in WA, where we are already well below the national average for GPs per capita,” she said.

“While Premier Roger Cook is throwing his hands in the air and declaring the shortage of GPs is a Federal Government problem, the WA Liberals are coming up with solutions.

“We will fund a $1 million roll out of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Community Residency Program which aims reinvigorate the GP pathway by giving resident medical students exposure to GP medicine.

“A WA Liberal Government will also offer a training grant of $40,000 per registrar to Resident Medial Officers to train as general practitioners.

“The grants will bridge the pay gap that currently exists between hospital-based registrars and GP-based registrars.”

Up to 215 grants will be offered annually, and GP practices that take on registrars will have their administration costs covered.

The WA Liberals will also establish an annual $10 million training fund to support junior doctors to pursue training in high-demand areas, such as paediatrics.

“By supporting junior doctors to train in these high-demand specialties we will help retain talent in WA, reduce reliance on overseas recruitment and build resilience into our healthcare system,” Ms Mettam said.

“The fund will also provide opportunities to train in regional and rural locations, fostering a pipeline of specialists familiar with the unique challenges of delivering healthcare in underserved communities.”

The WA Liberals have also committed to $60 million over four years to enable patients with clinical need to receive free follow-up appointments with a GP within seven days of hospital discharge.

Ms Mettam said evidence showed patients who did not visit a GP within seven days of hospital discharge were 20 per cent more likely to be readmitted, putting additional stress and cost on an already overburdened hospital system.

“In the current cost-of-living crisis, the gap payment required for most GP visits is a cost many people simply can’t meet,” she said.

“A Liberal Government would fund the gap in the Medicare payment for a GP visit for any patient leaving hospital with a clinical recommendation for a GP follow-up.

“These solutions dovetail with our co-prescribing initiative to upskill GPs to work with specialists to co-manage the ongoing medication needs of established patients, relieving appointment pressures on paediatricians.”

WA Liberal candidate for Victoria Park, Andra Biondi said helping cover the cost of GP visits after hospital discharge would not only save families money, it would also save the health system millions of dollars.

“Hospital readmissions cost our health system $300 million each year, this policy will, conservatively, save $60 million a year, well beyond the budgeted $15 million cost,” she said.

WA Liberal candidate for Riverton Amanda Spencer-Teo said the out-of-pocket cost for a GP visit meant many people didn’t bother with recommended follow-up appointments after leaving hospital.

“This is practical support for families that puts Western Australians back in charge of their own health.”