Dr Ewen McPhee, President of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) was particularly pleased to hear of the plan.

Dr McPhee said it was great to see the Liberals and Nationals make a real commitment to rural health this election.

“We are really pleased at Minister Nash’s announcement to appoint a National Rural Health Commissioner, and a commitment to pursing a National Rural Generalist Training Pathway,” Dr McPhee said.

“RDAA called for the appointment of a Commissioner early in the election campaign, and it is enormously gratifying to see that it has been taken on board by the Coalition.

“The role of a Commissioner will go a long way towards helping to develop a framework to support rural doctors.

“Tasking the Commissioner with the development of a National Rural Generalist Training Pathway shows just how well the Coalition understands health care delivery in the bush,” Dr McPhee said.

Rural communities rely on Rural Generalist doctors, who provide advanced services on top of their general practice work in areas such as obstetrics, surgery, anaesthetics, emergency medicine, indigenous health and mental health.

“Many country hospitals rely on Rural Generalists to stay open,” Dr McPhee said.

“RDAA, as well as other rural health stakeholders, have been calling for a national framework to support the development of our future rural doctors, to equip them with the skills needed and support them in their increased scope of practice.

“As Minister Nash said, rural communities need not just any doctor, but the right doctor, with the right skills in the right places.

“A National Rural Generalist Training Pathway is the key element to achieving this and we are excited to see that the Liberals and Nationals are committed to this idea.

“We now call on the Labor Party to come on board in recognising the importance of a targeted plan to address health care in the bush,” Dr McPhee said.