the 07/18/2008

Health warning: GPs a dying breed

GENERAL practitioners will be a thing of the past in 10 yearsunless they get more support, a prominent Adelaide GP says.

Dr Rod Pearce, chairman of the National General PracticeSupervisors Association, says to ensure GPs survive into thefuture, there needs to be enough of them, and enough nurses,teaching resources and infrastructure.

Otherwise, he warned, GPs would be replaced by graduates –who he calls "generation G" – practitioners whowill supervise a range of allied health practitioners, as leadersof multi-disciplinary teams rather than primary carers.

"It is important that we use our teams well, but getting tosee a GP and what a GP can offer is still critical," he said.

"If we don't live the dream and teach the dream then it willfall.

"If they don't support the current GPs, they have to invent awhole new structure and way to teach . . . and I don't know howthey'll do that."

Dr Pearce said he was optimistic that if GPs were given the chanceto train Generation G students how to best look after patients,general practitioners would survive.

"I'm optimistic at this stage that we can teach that," hesaid.

"There is a lot of pressure to get adequate time (to teach),and it's service delivery as well as teaching that is underpressure.

"But service delivery and teaching can be done together."

Dr Pearce said supervisors of today would be crucial to how generalpractice appeared as the next generation came through.

Meanwhile, a survey has revealed up to four in 10 GPs nationallyare considering retiring. The

Medical Observer survey found task substitution – such as the hiring of nursepractitioners to take over some doctors' tasks – and thedevelopment of GP super clinics – were to blame for the GPs'disenchantment.

Nearly three in four GPs say super clinics offering a range ofallied health services will not lead to better patient access toprimary care or GP after-hours service. More than one third believethey will actually lower the quality of care patients receive.

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