THE Rural Doctors Association of Australia says Labor's health policies are making it hard to attract and retain medical staff in the bush.
In July, Health Minister Mark Butler announced the number of Distribution Priority Areas across Australia would grow to 707 and include larger regional centres such as Newcastle and the Central Coast.
The status allows clinics to recruit from a wider pool of doctors, including overseas-trained clinicians who have to work in priority areas before they can move to a chosen location.
Rural medical clinics say doctors are leaving to work in urban areas or asking for more money to stay in the bush since the Labor government increased the number of workforce priority areas.
The Newcastle Herald has previously reported that local practices - such as the Fletcher Clinic and Waratah Medical Services - had spent years without success trying to recruit GPs.
Most of the 404 practices in the Hunter and Central Coast have been actively recruiting doctors, with the area losing close to 100 GPs in the past few years.
But the Rural Doctors Association of Australia says Labor's new policy has left rural and remote clinics struggling to attract and retain staff.
"We've had clinics contact us saying there's a lack of job applications, doctors saying, 'No, I'm not going to come', or even asking for more money," association president Megan Belot said.
Dr Belot met with Mr Butler in Canberra this week to discuss concerns about the rural workforce and find ways to address shortages.
"We're concerned about the immediate drain from rural," she said.
"We need to quickly implement policies that keep those doctors there.
"We need more of a carrot approach, like offering rewards for staying remote, because those policies tend to work a lot better than a stick policy."
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