28 January 2025

IMPROVING GP ACCESS

Federal Member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman, will gather consumers’ experiences of accessing GPs in the Blue Mountains at a roundtable in Katoomba on Friday 31 January.

“I know what a challenge it’s been over many years to attract new General Practitioners to the Mountains, especially as we see long term doctors retire or move away.

“For about 15 years, I’ve worked with whoever was in government to advocate for changes that would assist us to attract and keep GPs.

“The aim of this roundtable is to get consumer experiences, ahead of meeting with the local general practices about what they’re doing to increase their capacity and what more can be done to support them.

“It’s been terrific to see some new doctors come on board, and I know surgeries in different parts of the region are taking on new patients, but it isn’t as convenient as people would like.

Nepean Blue Mountains Primary Health Network, funded by government to support primary health care, will also attend the forum to discuss some of the data and the issues they’ve been working on.

“One of the challenges we face is that the Commonwealth health system considers most of the Mountains’ part of Sydney.

“They use something called the Modified Monash Model which was adopted in 2015, under the Liberals, to allocate resources. Only Blackheath and Mount Victoria are considered outside Sydney.

“That has meant that while there are some incentives we’ve been able to introduce to incentivise GP practices and doctors in the whole of the Mountains, there are extra ones that only Blackheath and Mt Victoria are eligible for.

“I have been relentless in pushing for additional support – and, as I say, some of it we have received – and I want to hear more of the real-life experiences that people have so I can continue to advocate for change.

Across the board, the focus of the Albanese Government has been to strengthen Medicare – making services more accessible and more affordable.

“If people can’t attend, I’d encourage them to email me their experiences.”

The roundtable will be held at Katoomba RSL on Friday 31 January at 3pm, with RSVPs to [email protected]

ENDS