WITH more than 100 vacancies for GPs across regional and rural Western Australia, finding a doctor to service your small town can sometimes feel like winning the lottery.
If that's the case, the Shire of Wyalkatchem has hit the jackpot, securing a full time GP to service Wyalkatchem, Koorda and the surrounding districts.
Having been without a full-time GP since September last year, the Shire's chief executive Peter Kline said it had "been a long time coming", with the new GP starting the role last at the beginning of the month.
"It is a really important part of our value proposition, to both the existing and new entrants to our community, that we have not only the hospital but a doctor that is capable of providing the full service necessary," Mr Kline said.
"The lack of a full-time doctor service has been one of the major concerns and frustrations of our community, so we are really pleased and relieved that the position has finally been filled."
The GP will be based at Wyalkatchem three and a half days a week and Koorda one full day a week and while only a short-term contract early into the new year had been secured, Mr Kline said a longer-term commitment for the future was probable.
With the combined population of both Wyalkatchem and Koorda just below 1000 people, he said the challenge of drawing workers to the area was like a "chicken or egg scenario".
"If we had a bigger, more vibrant regional type population then arguably attracting a doctor would not be so much of an issue, but because we are a smaller community it does create that additional challenge," Mr Kline said.
"Another issue is the doctors that do come out here have to be experienced doctors, capable of working without supervision, so that further reduces the pool of potential GPs we can draw on."
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Mr Kline said one of the benefits of the provision of localised GP care was improved safety for those living in the region, as well as helping ease the burden of local St Johns volunteers.
"In the absence of a local GP there is more of a tendency for people to not be as diligent about having their check-ups, so this will hopefully encourage people to have their health checked more regularly, leading to improved health outcomes for our local community," he said.
"While St John provides a marvellous service in Wyalkatchem and Koorda, they are being drawn on more heavily due to the absence of doctors in our regional areas, so we hope having a local doctor will also help reduce their workload."
The provision of the local doctor service, which includes housing, a vehicle and support for the doctor as well as medical centre equipment, equates to about 10 per cent of the Shire's rate revenue.
Mr Kline suggested additional financial support from the State government for the recruitment and retention of doctors in regional and rural areas, perhaps in the form of an additional Medicare related payment, as a way in which the State could assist local rural and regional governments currently undertaking the process.
Shire of Wyalkatchem president Quentin Davies said Dr Emmanuel Awogun, who runs the town's local medical practice, had been instrumental in securing a full-time doctor for the local community.
"Up until we got this full time GP, Dr Awogun had been on restricted service - so he was here once a fortnight and more recently had been visiting once a week from Perth and we also have our Telehealth services," Mr Davies said.
"Telehealth is great, but it's not the same as having a face-to-fce appointment."
While acknowledging the provision of full-time doctor service had come at a considerable cost to ratepayers, Mr Davies said it was necessary due to the region's aging demographic.
"Over the past four or five years, the average age within our Shire has increased by three or four years, so there are a lot of elderly people who we also need to cater for," Mr Davies said.
"The Wyalkatchem and Koorda District Hospitals are working together to make it a more sustainable medical practice and our intention is to work with the neighbouring towns if we can."
The provision of a local doctor service in the State's regional and rural areas can also be an important factor in drawing people and workers to the regions and retaining them.
"When you look for employees to come out here, they always ask if you have a doctor and do you have any coppers," Mr Davies said.
The Larry Elsegood Medical Centre in Wyalkatchem was funded by local farmer Larry Elsegood, who left a large sum of money to the Shire when he died.
From his generous donation, the Shire also set up a trust fund to contribute to the future health and wellbeing of the local community.
