The Federal Government’s announcement of $99.3 million to fund Commonwealth-supported medical placements (CSP) to get students to train in remote communities, as part of a broader $296.5 million rural and remote heath package, is good news says Charles Darwin University (CDU).
But those medical places must be directed to the Northern Territory, the only state or territory in Australia with no commonwealth-funded medical places.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the resource strain on rural and remote health services, and CDU is working to address these challenges by establishing a new School of Medicine, but CSP places are still required to allow students to study medicine in remote and rural locations in the NT.
CDU’s Vice Chancellor Scott Bowman is available to discuss how these placements are an opportunity for the government to direct this vital funding towards training and retaining medical professionals in regional and remote health in the NT.
Charles Darwin University (CDU) Vice-Chancellor Scott Bowman.
