The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) says the latest figures should be met with a Rural Rescue Package to entice and retain more doctors in rural and remote areas.

RDAA is also warning that the Federal Government’s proposed plan to introduce from July 2010 revised rural doctor retention payments based on a new geographical classification system is unlikely to increase the number of doctors in rural communities, and may in fact reduce the ability of some small rural communities to attract doctors.

The AIHW’s Medical labour force 2007 report shows that while the number of primary care practitioners grew in the major cities by 7.7 per cent between 2003 and 2007, inner regional areas saw just 1.7pc growth in their primary care practitioner workforce and outer regional areas just 1.5pc growth in the same period.

Inner and outer regional areas comprise the bulk of rural towns across Australia and consequently most of the nation’s rural population.

In terms of doctor-to-patient ratios, the RDAA says the news is even worse with significant declines in inner and outer regional areas.

When taken on a full-time equivalent (FTE) rate of primary care practitioners:

• Austr alia’s major cities had 95 primary care practitioners per 100,000 people (down 4pc on 2003 figures);
• inner regional areas had only 85 primary care practitioners per 100,000 people (down 10.5pc on 2003 figures); and
• outer regional areas had only 84 primary care practitioners per 100,000 people (down 7.7pc on 2003 figures).

In rural and remote areas, many GPs also provide inpatient and procedural services at their local hospital (including obstetric, anaesthetic and emergency care as well as general surgery).

The RDAA says this means the reduced rate of FTE primary care practitioners in inner and outer regional areas means that many rural communities are probably even worse off than the new figures suggest.

"The latest figures from the AIHW are yet another strong warning for the federal and state governments that things are not getting better in the bush when it comes to accessing general practice-based healthcare, and more must be done urgently to rectify the situation," RDAA president, Dr Nola Maxfield, said.