Hon Pete Hodgson
Minister of Health

15 June 2007

GP training numbers to increase by 50 per cent

From next February the number of fully funded places for General Practice training will rise from 69 a year to 104, Health Minister Pete Hodgson said today at the Continuing Medical Education conference in Rotorua.

The changes announced today mean that the Government will fully fund the current number of training positions – each year up to fifty places are partially funded by the doctors-in-training themselves.

“The Government’s significant investment in Primary Care means new team approaches, better care for chronic conditions and more emphasis on prevention. The Clinical Training Agency is working with the College to ensure that newly trained GPs are a good fit for this new environment,” said Pete Hodgson.

Each doctor will work in an accredited training practice where they have one-on-one supervision from a GP teacher including case review, video consultation analysis, a restricted number of patients per day - as well as the weekly seminar programme.

The need for more trainees is clear. The average age of GPs is 48; the number of GPs has plateaued – to 3013; and the proportion of doctors who are GPs has also declined – from 37 per cent to 34 per cent.

“Taking these steps now should help ensure we have sufficient GPs to provide comprehensive primary care around the country in future, and I will keep a watching brief should further increases be warranted and affordable.

“This move, combined with other Government initiatives, will help us become more self-sufficient in GP supply and increase the proportion of NZ born and trained GPs up from 66 per cent at the moment.”

ENDS

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