Expectations on regional WA councils to attract and retain GPs is becoming unrealistic, and impacting on the delivery of other Council services
That’s the message from the West Australian Local Government Association, which is citing examples of packages up to $1M being offered by small shires to attract doctors to their communities.
WALGA President Karen Chappel said at least 30 regional WA Councils are contributing to wages, leasing, infrastructure upgrades, accommodation and vehicle expenses to secure basic medical services.
She said regional shires are increasingly competing against each other for GP services, which are fundamentally a Federal and State responsibility, but are being met in large parts of the state by local government.
Read more from WALGA here.