The idea of the General Practitioners Program is to ensure that people have a dedicated GP that can look after them.
Minister for Health Dr Ifireimi Waqainabete highlighted this while responding to Opposition Whip Lynda Tabuya who asked the Minister how the program is supposed to help the people as she claims this has not started after it was announced to begin on the 1st of last month.
Waqainabete stressed that unfortunately people are not able to identify a particular doctor to look after them on a regular basis.
Meanwhile, Tabuya went on to ask if the GP Program directly contradicts what the Minister is trying to address to retain doctors in public hospitals.
Waqainabete reiterated that the General Practitioners Program actually adds more value to the service already being provided in public hospitals and this can enable the greater population to identify a doctor that can look after their individual families within their own communities.
General Practitioners are now encouraged to expand their practices into disadvantaged communities with the government footing the costs for the patients that will be seen by them.
