Southern GP Training chairman Dale Ford said a shortage of GPs in small regional towns with such skills as obstetrics and anaesthetics meant people had to travel further for after-hours treatment or for births.

Dr Ford, of Hamilton, said more training in specialist skills was also needed to replace those of many regional doctors who were nearing retirement age. He said specialist skills needed were not only in obstetrics and anaesthetics but also areas such as mental health.

State Health Minister David Davis said the state government would allocate an extra $3.2 million to support training for an additional 48 GPs to access training in specialist areas such as obstetrics, anaesthetics, emergency medicine and surgery to better equip them to practise in country hospitals.

He said the extra $3.2 million would be on top of the present $3 million over four years allocated to the General Practitioner — Rural Generalist Program.

“We know that retaining new GPs to practise in rural areas is a challenge, with a key factor being the availability of a streamlined training program that supports medical graduates through the postgraduate training pathway to rural general practice,” Mr Davis said. 

He also indicated a re-elected Coalition government would review insurance arrangements for country doctors practising obstetrics to encourage more to do so.

The Great South Coast Medicare Local group, which seeks to fill gaps in medical services throughout the region, provides regular GP co-education, including in specialist areas, to help GPs stay up to date. 

However, the group’s chief executive officer Glenda Stanislaw said getting GPs to work in many small towns was a challenge even with the training available in specialist areas.