THE Australian Medical Association has released a plan to keep more doctors in the Wimmera.
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Easy Entry, Gracious Exit calls for more clinics to be established in rural and regional Australia so doctors can easily move to rural areas without the risk and stress of running their own clinic.
West Wimmera Health Service chief executive John Smith said the plan would only address half the problem.
"Doctors should be supported and shouldn't have to set up their own clinics," he said.
"But it begs the question, who should?
"Health services ought to be vitally involved in the project with the AMA to ensure they are well qualified and credentialed and are familiar with practising in rural and remote communities.
"We need to be sure they are well supported."
Mr Smith said it was hard to find Australian-trained doctors who were prepared to move to rural areas.
"It needs to be accepted by the community that internationally trained doctors will be the lifeline of practice," he said.
Mr Smith said Tristar Medical Group, which has clinics in Horsham, Warracknabeal and Nhill, had a model that could be followed to solve the shortage of doctors in rural areas.
"I think it is doing something right. Rather than be old-school, people who are involved in this particular sphere ought to be looking at what Tristar is doing," he said.
"It is well trained and equipped to deal with rural issues."
Tristar is expanding its Horsham clinic to meet a high demand for doctors, with a further five GPs expected to start in October.
Rural Doctors Association of Australia chief executive Jenny Johnson said the plan was one piece of the puzzle.
"It has advantages and disadvantages," she said. "We acknowledge that it's useful in some situations."
Ms Johnson said she had found doctors were happy to come to rural areas, but factors outside of work often made them reluctant to stay.
She said a lack of opportunities for spouses to work, along with a lack of options to educate their children, were a factor.
"We need a range of incentives - both financial and non-financial - to keep doctors in rural areas," Ms Johnson said.