The doctor shortage !

Plans to create medical super clinics that serve the public from 6 pm to 8 am - and bulk bill all patients - have one glaring deficiency. Where to find doctors willing to work through the wee small hours - when many practices can not attract doctors to work a civilized 9 to 5 shift ? The idea of super clinics is to divert demand from the over worked public hospital emergency departments. Many people present at emergency departments with medical problems more suitable for attention by a general practitioner - but this merely highlights the base problem with medicine in Australia. We are not training enough new doctors to service the needs of this country ! The obvious answer is to expand medical training - and lower the cost so that people with the brains, but not the finance - can become qualified. Unfortunately, such a plan would probably face obstacles from the existing pool of doctors. It is a fact of life that shortages cause price rises, and the present doctor shortage results in those qualified earning a very good living for a reasonable work load. All professions like to control the numbers - to safeguard their living standards. In particular, the ranks of specialists are carefully controlled - by those existing specialists. Expect defensive flak the moment any surge in new doctor training is suggested as the answer to our present medical problems.