Specialist obstetrician Locum Scheme

Welcome to the Specialist Obstetrician Locum Scheme

Welcome to the Specialist Obstetrician Locum Scheme (SOLS) website. SOLS is a pilot project designed to supply affordable, quality locum relief to rural obstetricians. The project is funded by the Australian Government.

The SOLS pilot commenced in July 2006 to run for 15 months to provide rural obstetricians with subsidised locum support for 14 days and an optional additional 2 weeks of unsubsidised support.

A request for continued funding has recently been approved, and the project will be extended until September 2008.

Dot Willmott

Aims

The aim of the SOLS pilot is to maintain and improve the access of rural women to quality local obstetric care by providing the rural specialist obstetrician workforce with efficient and cost-effective locum support.

The pilot also aims to sustain safety and quality in rural practice by facilitating access to personal leave or professional development or breaks from on-call commitments for rural obstetricians.

Background

There is a critical shortage of obstetricians in rural and remote Australia . Despite the fact that nearly one third (30%) of all babies born in Australia are born in rural and remote locations, only 16% of the 1160 practising obstetricians reside and practice in rural Australia (AMWAC Report, 2004.20). In addition, the current rural specialist obstetrician workforce is ageing, with a median age of 56 years. (Robson, Bland, Bunting 2005). This means that half of the obstetricians now practising in rural areas may have retired within five years and it is unlikely that the subsequent vacancies will be filled with young recruits.

The impact of a diminishing workforce on those who remain is extremely serious and will exacerbate an already critical situation. The inability of specialist obstetricians to undertake personal and professional development leave underlines the vulnerability of current service provision and the very real disadvantage faced by rural women in need of obstetric services.

A scheme that would supply affordable, quality locum relief to obstetricians so they can undertake personal leave or professional development will contribute substantially to both workforce retention and the continued provision of high quality specialist care for rural women.

The SOLS pilot follows a highly successful scoping study undertaken in 2005 by Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) in conjunction with RANZCOG and the Australian Rural and Remote Workforce Agencies Group (ARRWAG, represented by the NSW Rural Doctors Network). The scoping study, which was also funded by the Australian Government, found there is a definite need to assist rural specialist obstetricians in obtaining affordable locum cover, to enable them to take much-needed study and recreation leave.

Management

The SOLS pilot is jointly managed by a tripartite Management Group consisting of representatives from RANZCOG, RDAA and NSW RDN. There is also an Advisory Committee consisting of representatives from key stakeholder groups to provide external guidance.

© RANZCOG