Incentives of up to $10,000 will be offered to doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals under a Nationals plan to tackle critical health workforce shortages.
The Nationals Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland MP, announced a $40 million investment over four years to establish a Victorian Rural Health Workforce Incentive Scheme if elected to government, which will tackle critical health workforce shortages and rebuild healthcare services across regional Victoria that have been cut under a Labor government.
Ms Cleeland said Labor’s decisions have reduced maternity services, put essential services at risk and left communities with increasingly limited access to care across the Euroa electorate.
“This is what healthcare looks like in regional Victoria under Labor: maternity services slashed in Benalla, maternity services reduced in Kilmore, podiatry at risk in Benalla and extremely limited mental health services across Southern Hume,” Ms Cleeland said.
“In some parts of regional Victoria, people are facing waits of up to two years for allied health services.
“That is not an acceptable standard of healthcare for regional Victorians.
“Our hospitals and health services cannot provide the care our communities need without the doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals to deliver it.
“We need to stop treating regional healthcare as an afterthought.”
The scheme will give eligible healthcare workers support packages including relocation assistance, accommodation support and professional development opportunities to encourage more professionals to build long-term careers in regional communities.
The Nationals will target the scheme towards areas experiencing the greatest workforce pressures, modelling it on a successful program operating in New South Wales.
Ms Cleeland said communities including Benalla, Seymour, Kilmore and Euroa need greater support to attract and retain healthcare professionals.
“We are asking our regional health services to compete with metropolitan hospitals for the same skilled workers, while at the same time our communities are struggling with housing shortages and growing demand for healthcare,” Ms Cleeland said.
“If we want doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals to come to regional Victoria, we need to give them a reason to choose our communities and the support to stay.
“That means helping with relocation and accommodation, but it also means giving healthcare professionals the opportunity to build a long-term career in regional Victoria.
“For too long, Labor has let regional communities watch their healthcare services slowly disappear or become harder to access.
“Benalla should not have to fight to retain essential services like maternity and podiatry.
“Families in Kilmore should not be seeing maternity services reduced.
“And people across Southern Hume should not be left with such limited access to mental health services or waiting years to see an allied health professional.
“Regional Victorians deserve better.
“The Nationals plan will put the people back into our health system, strengthen our regional workforce and make sure families can access the healthcare they need closer to home.
“We need to rebuild confidence in regional healthcare and make sure the next generation of doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals see regional Victoria as a place where they can build a career and a life.”
