Maryborough doctor Dan Wilson named Rural Doctors Association of Victoria president

Following the state election last week, Dr Wilson said he is eager to continue working to improving the health of Victorians by improving work quality and experiences of rural doctors.

"I am looking forward to working toward better health outcomes for rural Victorians by building a thriving rural medical workforce, ensuring comprehensive care is available in-community, and rural medical services are supported and expanded," he said.

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Dr Wilson said the Victorian Government must reduce pressure on metro health services by building a strong rural health care network.

"Rural hospitals can provide a high standard of care across emergency, birthing, mental health and minor surgeries," he said.

"The move to reduce these services not only results in rural patients having to travel to large regional or metro hospitals to access care - increasing the pressure on these already stretched facilities - but also put patients at risk, in particular when emergency services are moved to telehealth only care.

"A critical emergency presentation requires the attendance of a real-life rural doctor. Patient's lives are on the line and there is only so much that can be done via a video link."

Dr Wilson said there needed to be more funding for Urgent Care Centres that are placing emergency departments in rural areas.

"For the most they are still not funded, resulting in rural Victorians having to pay for emergency medical care which is free in larger centres," Dr Wilson said.

Currently working as a rural generalist in training and has advanced skills in obstetrics, Dr Wilson has been a RDAV board for the past four years and recently served as vice president.

"Despite the extensive skill set maintained by rural doctors, they are not adequately supported," he said.

"Doctors in rural areas are not being fairly remunerated for after-hours work and this is resulting in a reduction of services and a shortage of doctors.

"RDAV will continue to advocate for state-wide contracts for GPs providing services at rural hospitals, such as are available for salaried hospital doctors.

"This would go a long way in attracting more junior doctors into rural practice, as it would remove the current uncertainty around their potential terms and conditions, as well as enable them to retain the entitlements, such as professional development leave, that medical trainee doctors can access in salaried jobs."

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