A message from GPRA President Dr Antony Bolton
With regards to the transition of the GP training program from the Department of Health (DoH) back to the GP Colleges, a frequent comment I receive from GPRA members is, ‘Why isn’t there more information about this? What’s the delay?’.
This is an incredibly complex endeavour and we are less than 12 months away from recruiting the first cohort of registrars into the new training program.
As of yet, we do not have much in the way of detail on what those GP trainees and their supervisors and employing practices will experience and how those already in the system at the time of transition will be protected.
I do not think there are intentional hold-ups on anyone’s side—all stakeholders are committed to delivering a high-quality training program. We are all working together to achieve this common goal.
GPRA acknowledges that the DoH has hosted a series of events recently that are starting to fill in the gaps and we look forward to continuing to engage in that process. GPRA is particularly keen to understand how GP trainees will be supported in the new training program. We note that there is a lot of experience and sectoral knowledge that must be retained, including within the RTOs, amongst GP supervisors and practices, as well as the RLO network and GPRA’s Advisory Council.
Ultimately, the Colleges and the DoH are responsible for delivering the transition and have reassured that the process can be completed on time. GPRA is committed to supporting them to complete the process on time and to work with our stakeholders in any way we can.
However, the deadline must not become an obstacle to achieving our goal, which is to create a world-leading general practice training programme and deliver an effective transition that does not inadvertently disadvantage any of those already in the system.
I welcome your thoughts and feedback on this transition. Please don’t hesitate to contact me via email, Twitter or Facebook if you wish to discuss this transition.