Junior GPs could get up to 23% more, after Health Minister Andrew Little announced the Government will top up the salaries of new GP registrars to bring them in line with hospital counterparts.
Little said the poorer pay for GP registrars was “the biggest barrier to young doctors going into general practice”.
First-year registrars, who are doctors starting out in their specialisation, are paid upwards of $83,000 for working at hospitals.
Little on Tuesday announced funding for new GPs and for the Royal College of General Practitioners to pay teaching supervisors, in a bid to attract more people to train as GPs.
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Health Minister Andrew Little says higher pay for new GPs will attract more people to train in primary care.
“Funding is also being increased to enable the Royal College to pay teaching supervisors for an extra two-and-a-half hours a week, and GPs who host 12-week community training modules will be paid hosting fees of $3600,” he said.
He said closing the pay gap between GPs and hospital registrars should see more doctors enter primary care.
Little said the Government also wanted to see more doctors move to New Zealand, and said adjustments to the country’s immigration settings were having an impact.
