Doctors and medical recruiters say some rural towns in Western Australia lack the support and amenities needed to attract and retain GPs.

There are currently 80 doctor vacancies across regional WA, according to non-profit workforce agency Rural Health West.

Medical recruiter Adelene Chew said luring doctors to rural areas was difficult, as many preferred to remain close to Perth.

“You can give incentives, but if there are no amenities for families it doesn’t work,” she said.

“Where are all the good schools? They are in metropolitan Perth.”.

For doctors who do choose to relocate, the workload and lack of support can be overwhelming.

Andrew Van Ballegooyen is a doctor with decades of experience working across rural WA.

“A week was really hard work and long hours,” he said.

“I did on-call for the hospital, emergency, after-hours procedures and worked with the nursing home.”

After years of service, Dr Van Ballegooyen said he faced challenges when contracts ended or were not renewed, which limited his ability to continue in some towns.

He said in his experience, the involvement of local government in delivering health services could complicate matters.

But some shires say they have to get involved to ensure communities have access to health care.

The Shire of Kojonup subsidises $250,000 annually, plus housing and a car, to attract doctors.

Shire President Roger Bilney said the money goes towards covering overheads at the medical centre in the great southern town, as well as the cost of recruiting and retaining doctors.

“There’s a limited pool of funds, and this is how we choose to spend it,” he said.

Mr Bilney views the outlay as an investment in the community.

“There was a period when we had no doctor and the town really struggled,” he said.

“Primary healthcare isn’t our responsibility, but in the absence of anyone else doing it, we have to do it.”

The chair of rural doctors at the Australian Medical Association WA, Dr Paddy Glackin, said the funding shires use to keep doctors comes at the expense of other services.

“That’s money they can’t spend on other things that the lucky leafy suburbs do,” he said.

“This is turning into a crisis.

“You’ve got country shires in WA stumping up lots of money to try and attract and keep doctors, but that’s not sustainable. 

“State and federal governments need to address this issue.”

Dr Glackin said WA lacks a well-structured program to encourage doctors to take rural positions.

“To get doctors into country towns, they need exposure throughout their careers so they can see the benefits,” he said.

“You also need educational opportunities and funded training programs to support doctors through the various stages of their careers.

“This is what we elect our governments to do – ensure reasonable access to healthcare as a human right.

“If a shire does not have a doctor, that’s a huge disincentive and that’s how a community dies.”