Rural
5 March, 2025
Kilcoy’s doctor drought
OPPOSITION Leader Steven Miles visited the Kilcoy Hospital last Thursday, February 27, asking the State Government to reinstate the Workforce Attraction Incentive Scheme (WAIS), aimed at attracting more doctors to rural and regional Queensland.
The closure of the WAIS (Workforce Attraction and Incentive Scheme) has exacerbated the ongoing doctor shortage in rural and regional Queensland, particularly impacting facilities like Kilcoy Hospital.
The hospital, which no longer has on-site doctors available after-hours or on weekends due to these shortages, has left patients with no choice but to travel out of town for emergency care. While telehealth doctors and on-site nurses are available to assist, Somerset Councillor Michael Bishop has raised concerns that nurses are being asked to operate outside of their scope of practice.
The WAIS, which was introduced by the former State Government in August 2024, offered financial incentives to attract health workers to Queensland Health. The scheme provided $20,000 to interstate and international health workers and $70,000 for those accepting roles in rural and remote locations.
The closure of the scheme on February 1, 2025, has removed a critical incentive to bring doctors to these areas, especially in emergency departments where patients have an expectation of in-person care.
Mr. Miles, commenting on the closure, noted that the WAIS had been successful in attracting medical staff to regional areas. The scheme had a retention rate of 95% and brought over 240 doctors and 800 nurses to Queensland hospitals. However, its end means there is no longer a strong incentive for doctors to move to rural towns.
Dr. Nick Yim, president of the Australian Medical Association Queensland (AMAQ), expressed disappointment over the government's decision to scrap the WAIS, especially given the chronic health workforce crisis in rural and regional hospitals. Dr. Yim emphasized the need for a competitive recruitment strategy to address workforce shortages and urged the government to implement long-term, needs-based solutions.
Dr. Tom Doolan, a Kilcoy doctor with over 40 years of experience, identified three key obstacles to attracting medical staff to rural areas: inadequate training for rural healthcare, insufficient remuneration, and poor service models. Despite there being significant interest in rural positions, with 23 applicants for two open positions in his practice, Dr. Doolan believes the current service model is broken and poses a serious risk to patient safety.
The lack of on-site doctors has already had dangerous consequences. Former Kilcoy nurse Denise Modistach shared a personal experience where her grandson was injured and had to be taken to multiple locations for treatment, illustrating the risks of not having a doctor available on-site at the hospital.
In response to these challenges, Dr. Doolan suggested that the WAIS be considered as part of a broader strategy to improve rural healthcare and attract the necessary medical staff.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Mark Butler, did not respond to inquiries about the WAIS.
