Federal Coalition Government announces Regional Health Training Hub for Bundaberg

Wednesday, 12 April 2017

Medical students in Bundaberg will have greater opportunities to live, study and work closer to home following the announcement of 26 Regional Training Hubs to be established in the regions.

Federal Assistant Minister for Health, Dr David Gillespie, announced that Bundaberg is one of 26 regions across rural and regional areas that will benefit from the Federal Coalition Government’s $28.5 million investment in Regional Training Hubs over 2016-17 to 2018-19, which forms an essential component of the Integrated Rural Training Pipeline for Medicine helping to get more doctors and health professionals into regional Australia.

“Better coordination of medical training through the Regional Training Hubs will help us build the regional health workforce of the future,” Minister Gillespie said.

Federal Member for Hinkler Keith Pitt said the Regional Training Hub will be operated through the University of Queensland.

“This hub will work with local health services to enable students to continue rural training past university into postgraduate medical training.

“It will also help identify available places and match students with appropriate training opportunities across the various medical specialties, working within regional and rural Australia,” he said.

Under the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training program, $54.4 million has been allocated over 2016-17 to 2018-19 for 26 new Regional Training Hubs and three University Departments of Rural Health.  

Federal Member for Flynn Ken O’Dowd welcomed the training hub program and said he expected it to make a big difference for the current imbalance in availability of services for regional students and patients.

“Our government’s initiatives to support high quality rural placements for health students from across Australia, will help ensure regional and rural communities have access to doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals in the future,” Mr O’Dowd said.

“The statistics show that 80 percent of students, who study in the regions, stay in the regions; that’s why supporting high quality regional and rural health training is such an important way to address rural health workforce shortages.

“These initiatives will help the Coalition Government deliver on its commitment to provide first rate health and medical services to all Australians – regardless of where they live,” Mr O’Dowd said.

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