Rapidly growing communities within reach of Australia's large
cities are creating unique challenges for GPs practising in these
areas, a new report released today by the Australian Institute of
Health and Welfare (AIHW) has found.
Bathurst, Wodonga, Toowoomba, and Victor Harbor are examples of
Inner Regional areas that that are undergoing a population swell as
Australians move out from the cities and in from the country for
the lifestyle of the coast and regional centres.
The report, Locality matters - The influence of geography on
general practice in Australia 1998- 2004, looks at encounters
between GPs and patients in five areas - Major Cities, Inner
Regional Australia, Outer Regional Australia, Remote Australia and
Very Remote Australia - using data from over 600,000 patient visits
collected over a six-year period from March 1998 to April 2004.
Stephanie Knox of the University of Sydney said, 'It is well
understood that there are medical workforce shortages in the Outer
Regional and Remote areas of Australia, but our findings show that
there is a rapidly growing demand for health services in localities
in Inner Regional Australia.
'Many of these areas are growing at a rate of nearly 2% per
year, and we are seeing more older Australians moving into these
areas.
'With 29% of patients at GP consultations aged 65 and over,
compared with 25% in Major Cities and Outer Regional Australia,
we're seeing unique health service demands developing in these
areas.
'In particular, GPs in Inner Regional Australia are treating
more chronic conditions like osteoarthritis, heart disease and
depression, than GPs in other parts of Australia.
'Rural health workforce planning needs to consider the
burgeoning demand for health services in the growing Inner Regional
areas as well as in more remote areas, and to plan for the
long-term health needs of the older population,' Ms Knox said.
Traditionally, incentives to attract doctors to more remote
areas have been based on the Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Areas
(RRMA) of Australia classification, which measures population
density and straight-line distance to service centres.
However, the report found that Australian Standard Geographical
Classification (ASGC) Remoteness Structure, a newer geographical
classification which allocates localities to remoteness categories
based on the road distance to service centres was better able to
define regional differences than RRMA.
30 September 2005
Further information: Stephanie Knox, tel. 02
9845 8157, or 0412 971 061 or 0411 197 938
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. 61 2 6244 1032
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for availability of Locality matters - The
influence of geography on general practice in Australia 1998-
2004