Specialist training stay of execution, still no guarantee

THE Federal Government's decision to extend the Specialist Training Program (STP) for another 12 months has bought students and private hospitals some time, but without guaranteed funding for long-term certainty the future of clinical training remains in jeopardy.

The STP supports registrar training placements in private hospitals across surgery, psychiatry, oncology, palliative care and rehabilitation – helping train the next generation of Australia's specialist medical workforce. This is where they get the mentored experience they need.

No ongoing funding was provided in the Federal Budget. Instead, another extension was flagged. The stop gap falls short of what private hospitals need to commit to places for specialist trainees.

"You can't build a sustainable specialist workforce for the long-term on rolling 12-month extensions and expect hospitals to just wait and see," Mr Heffernan said. "The risk is hospitals, who spend their own money to support these training places, may find the on-again, off-again ordeal just too hard.

"This program has now spent years lurching from cancellation to reprieve and back again, while private hospitals are left trying to make long-term workforce and training decisions with no clear commitment from Government.

"Private hospitals currently absorb significant costs to deliver specialist training, including registrar wages, supervision, accreditation and compliance requirements, with STP funding covering only part of the expense.

"Private hospitals generally operate on three-year training agreements with state health departments because that is what workforce planning demands. The lack of certainty is creating major practical challenges for hospitals trying to maintain registrar training positions.

"When the Federal Government only provides 12-months lead time on what it might or might not do, hospitals are forced into constant re-negotiations with public systems, colleges and accreditation bodies.

"Accrediting registrar positions is expensive and resource intensive, requiring hospitals to meet rigorous specialist college standards and supervision obligations. With the STP in limbo, it creates more administration, more cost and more instability for a program the health system fundamentally relies on.

"Private hospitals continue to invest because they understand how important this pipeline is to Australia's future healthcare workforce. But there comes a point where uncertainty itself becomes the problem.

"If governments are serious about training the next generation of specialists, then they need to properly commit to it. If private hospitals are not supported to continue delivering this training, where exactly does the Government expect these future specialists to come from?"

Mr Heffernan said what the sector needs is not another short-term extension, but a genuine long-term funding commitment that gives hospitals confidence to continue investing in specialist training capacity.

-ENDS-

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