Queensland benefiting from medical recruitment campaign
18/07/2008(16:06)
A recruitment campaign that offers financial incentives is enticing doctors to work in south-east Queensland, a new study has revealed.
Figures from Australia's Rural Workforce Agency found that over 1,080 GPs were working in the rural area at the end of 2007, which was higher than the figures for Victoria and Western Australia, reports the Canberra Times.
Grants of up to $20,000 (£9,700) are offered to international medical graduates, under the Queensland Overseas Trained Doctor Scheme, in the hope of attracting GPs to relocate to the bush.
Dr Kim Webber, chief executive of Rural Health Workforce Australia, told the newspaper: "Over the past ten years, the number of international medical graduates working in rural and remote Australia has more than doubled. They are an invaluable part of our workforce."
ABC.net recently reported that the Royal Flying Doctors Service of Australia called for state governments to be "more supportive" of its work.
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