It's an age old question: we pay our doctors so much, why can't we get them to stay?
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Ulverstone's Dr Ross Lamplugh doesn't have the perfect solution for keeping doctors in Tasmania, but he's certainly willing to give it a go after watching various communities struggle to keep local practices, pharmacies and other health services open.
MORE THAN MONEY
Dr Lamplugh co-founded Ochre Health in the early 2000s based on a supportive model that managed to transform a small, struggling practice in rural NSW into a thriving medical hub.
More than 15 years later, and Ochre Health now operates medical centres at Strahan, King Island, Rosebery, Zeehan, Bridport, Hobart, Flinders Island, St Helens, Queenstown and - most recently - Smithton and Scottsdale.
"It's not about money," he said.
"You can't just pay them more and expect them to stay. And our experience is that the kind of doctors we want are not the kind that are coming because of the money."
He said one of the less talked about reasons for a fast turnover of rural doctors was burn out, a lack of support and the impact on family.
"It's funny, there's all this research into retaining staff in non-medical situations," he said.
"You know, giving staff the opportunity to climb and progress in their career, making sure they get training and support and meaningful connections in the community. And it's like, as soon as we switch over to the medical sphere all that goes out the window.
"If they can't go on holiday because there's no one to replace them, then it doesn't matter if they get paid more.
"They're burnt out. Adding a few extra dollars doesn't do anything. It's all about support."
RETAINING AND RECRUITING
A quick google search shows at least 17 general practitioner positions in the North-West, as well as scores of pharmacist, nurse, paramedic and various locum positions in the health sector.
Health Minister Sarah Courtney said the government was continuing to trial a recruitment and retention allowance for specialists in the North-West in the hopes of attracting medical professionals.
The statement followed news the government reached a three-year wage agreement with public sector doctors on Thursday - a large proportion of Tasmania's doctors - which will run to March 2022.
"The agreement includes an annual 2.3 per cent pay increase, consistent with the latest agreements in other parts of the Tasmanian Public Sector," she said.
"This agreement will help to improve service delivery by ensuring Tasmania can be competitive in recruiting staff in hard to fill areas of expertise, once the threat of COVID-19 has eased.
"These are challenging times across our community and this agreement provides certainty for our medical workforce."
The Australian Medical Association Tasmania lead negotiator Dr Michael Lumsden-Steel said doctors were appreciative of the government's offer, and had chosen to put aside some of their issues while government resources were tied up in COVID response.
"Importantly, the recruitment and retention allowance for North West doctors is protected for the next three years," he said.
"This has been critical in helping the North West lessen its reliance on locum doctors and recruit a more stable workforce going forward.
"The AMA had presented a Log of Claims to government late last year wanting to see improvements to working conditions for doctors that were more reflective of the actual work being done to support the health needs of our patients.
"However ... we have been willing to put many of those issues aside for this agreement and will wait for the next bargaining period to bring our concerns back to the table."