Soccer headers alter brains, adding to dementia fears
Heading a soccer ball alters brain chemistry, but more studies are needed to prove if the activity can be clearly linked to dementia, researchers have found.
World-leading research driven by Sydney University showed "subtle but measurable" effects when players headed a ball 20 times in as many minutes.
They also found elevated levels of two proteins considered biomarkers of brain injury and future dementia risk.
Although the effects were far smaller than in conditions such as dementia, study co-author Danielle McCartney said the findings were enough to prompt further thought about what damage the activity was doing to brains.
"Our research adds to a growing body of work suggesting that non-concussive impacts like soccer heading do have subtle effects on the brain," she told AAP.
"But the clinical and long-term significance of these effects require further study."
The study involved adult male soccer players repeatedly heading a ball before brain assessments were performed using MRI facilities, while blood and cognitive-function testing was also carried out.
Results were compared with when participants kicked the ball instead.
It was the first randomised controlled trial measuring the impact of heading through MRI scans.
While no cognitive impairment was found, the effects were viewed as enough to suggest players should limit how often they head a ball.
"Our findings do indicate we need to exercise caution when it comes to heading, and probably be looking for opportunities to limit exposure," Dr McCartney said.
"Our research would probably suggest extensive heading during training sessions, for example, is not advisable."
International studies have found footballers are more likely to develop dementia than the rest of the population, while others have shown that goalkeepers, who do not often head the ball, are less likely to suffer brain disease than outfield players.
Former journeyman English footballer Dean Windass has been public with his stage-two dementia battle, with the 56-year-old revealing a consultant told him a career of heading the ball was likely to have contributed to his diagnosis.
Governing bodies in some countries have banned heading in training among junior ranks, including in England, where it is not permitted until a limited amount at the under-12 level.
At the professional ranks, the English Premier League recommends players only head the ball 10 times at one training session per week.
Football Australia recently appointed an expert team, including their chief medical officer, to consider recommendations around heading.
"The project team will consider a Football Australia expert working group's suggestions on strategies to reduce the incidence, magnitude and burden of heading in youth football commencing with a comprehensive literature review," a spokesman told AAP.
The governing body does not yet have guidelines on heading at the youth level, but the spokesman said gameplay tweaks - including a smaller field, no throw-ins and a requirement for goalkeepers to roll or throw the ball - reduced heading.
Heading a soccer ball alters brain chemistry, but more studies are needed to prove if the activity can be clearly linked to dementia, researchers have found.
World-leading research driven by Sydney University showed "subtle but measurable" effects when players headed a ball 20 times in as many minutes.
They also found elevated levels of two proteins considered biomarkers of brain injury and future dementia risk.
Although the effects were far smaller than in conditions such as dementia, study co-author Danielle McCartney said the findings were enough to prompt further thought about what damage the activity was doing to brains.
"Our research adds to a growing body of work suggesting that non-concussive impacts like soccer heading do have subtle effects on the brain," she told AAP.
"But the clinical and long-term significance of these effects require further study."
The study involved adult male soccer players repeatedly heading a ball before brain assessments were performed using MRI facilities, while blood and cognitive-function testing was also carried out.
Results were compared with when participants kicked the ball instead.
It was the first randomised controlled trial measuring the impact of heading through MRI scans.
While no cognitive impairment was found, the effects were viewed as enough to suggest players should limit how often they head a ball.
"Our findings do indicate we need to exercise caution when it comes to heading, and probably be looking for opportunities to limit exposure," Dr McCartney said.
"Our research would probably suggest extensive heading during training sessions, for example, is not advisable."
International studies have found footballers are more likely to develop dementia than the rest of the population, while others have shown that goalkeepers, who do not often head the ball, are less likely to suffer brain disease than outfield players.
Former journeyman English footballer Dean Windass has been public with his stage-two dementia battle, with the 56-year-old revealing a consultant told him a career of heading the ball was likely to have contributed to his diagnosis.
Governing bodies in some countries have banned heading in training among junior ranks, including in England, where it is not permitted until a limited amount at the under-12 level.
At the professional ranks, the English Premier League recommends players only head the ball 10 times at one training session per week.
Football Australia recently appointed an expert team, including their chief medical officer, to consider recommendations around heading.
"The project team will consider a Football Australia expert working group's suggestions on strategies to reduce the incidence, magnitude and burden of heading in youth football commencing with a comprehensive literature review," a spokesman told AAP.
The governing body does not yet have guidelines on heading at the youth level, but the spokesman said gameplay tweaks - including a smaller field, no throw-ins and a requirement for goalkeepers to roll or throw the ball - reduced heading.
Heading a soccer ball alters brain chemistry, but more studies are needed to prove if the activity can be clearly linked to dementia, researchers have found.
World-leading research driven by Sydney University showed "subtle but measurable" effects when players headed a ball 20 times in as many minutes.
They also found elevated levels of two proteins considered biomarkers of brain injury and future dementia risk.
Although the effects were far smaller than in conditions such as dementia, study co-author Danielle McCartney said the findings were enough to prompt further thought about what damage the activity was doing to brains.
"Our research adds to a growing body of work suggesting that non-concussive impacts like soccer heading do have subtle effects on the brain," she told AAP.
"But the clinical and long-term significance of these effects require further study."
The study involved adult male soccer players repeatedly heading a ball before brain assessments were performed using MRI facilities, while blood and cognitive-function testing was also carried out.
Results were compared with when participants kicked the ball instead.
It was the first randomised controlled trial measuring the impact of heading through MRI scans.
While no cognitive impairment was found, the effects were viewed as enough to suggest players should limit how often they head a ball.
"Our findings do indicate we need to exercise caution when it comes to heading, and probably be looking for opportunities to limit exposure," Dr McCartney said.
"Our research would probably suggest extensive heading during training sessions, for example, is not advisable."
International studies have found footballers are more likely to develop dementia than the rest of the population, while others have shown that goalkeepers, who do not often head the ball, are less likely to suffer brain disease than outfield players.
Former journeyman English footballer Dean Windass has been public with his stage-two dementia battle, with the 56-year-old revealing a consultant told him a career of heading the ball was likely to have contributed to his diagnosis.
Governing bodies in some countries have banned heading in training among junior ranks, including in England, where it is not permitted until a limited amount at the under-12 level.
At the professional ranks, the English Premier League recommends players only head the ball 10 times at one training session per week.
Football Australia recently appointed an expert team, including their chief medical officer, to consider recommendations around heading.
"The project team will consider a Football Australia expert working group's suggestions on strategies to reduce the incidence, magnitude and burden of heading in youth football commencing with a comprehensive literature review," a spokesman told AAP.
The governing body does not yet have guidelines on heading at the youth level, but the spokesman said gameplay tweaks - including a smaller field, no throw-ins and a requirement for goalkeepers to roll or throw the ball - reduced heading.
Heading a soccer ball alters brain chemistry, but more studies are needed to prove if the activity can be clearly linked to dementia, researchers have found.
World-leading research driven by Sydney University showed "subtle but measurable" effects when players headed a ball 20 times in as many minutes.
They also found elevated levels of two proteins considered biomarkers of brain injury and future dementia risk.
Although the effects were far smaller than in conditions such as dementia, study co-author Danielle McCartney said the findings were enough to prompt further thought about what damage the activity was doing to brains.
"Our research adds to a growing body of work suggesting that non-concussive impacts like soccer heading do have subtle effects on the brain," she told AAP.
"But the clinical and long-term significance of these effects require further study."
The study involved adult male soccer players repeatedly heading a ball before brain assessments were performed using MRI facilities, while blood and cognitive-function testing was also carried out.
Results were compared with when participants kicked the ball instead.
It was the first randomised controlled trial measuring the impact of heading through MRI scans.
While no cognitive impairment was found, the effects were viewed as enough to suggest players should limit how often they head a ball.
"Our findings do indicate we need to exercise caution when it comes to heading, and probably be looking for opportunities to limit exposure," Dr McCartney said.
"Our research would probably suggest extensive heading during training sessions, for example, is not advisable."
International studies have found footballers are more likely to develop dementia than the rest of the population, while others have shown that goalkeepers, who do not often head the ball, are less likely to suffer brain disease than outfield players.
Former journeyman English footballer Dean Windass has been public with his stage-two dementia battle, with the 56-year-old revealing a consultant told him a career of heading the ball was likely to have contributed to his diagnosis.
Governing bodies in some countries have banned heading in training among junior ranks, including in England, where it is not permitted until a limited amount at the under-12 level.
At the professional ranks, the English Premier League recommends players only head the ball 10 times at one training session per week.
Football Australia recently appointed an expert team, including their chief medical officer, to consider recommendations around heading.
"The project team will consider a Football Australia expert working group's suggestions on strategies to reduce the incidence, magnitude and burden of heading in youth football commencing with a comprehensive literature review," a spokesman told AAP.
The governing body does not yet have guidelines on heading at the youth level, but the spokesman said gameplay tweaks - including a smaller field, no throw-ins and a requirement for goalkeepers to roll or throw the ball - reduced heading.
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The Advertiser
14 hours ago
- The Advertiser
The $45,000 golden prescription to heal rural health
Unlimited fresh air and blue skies, a daily walk to work, a healthy drop of fine wine, two NRL games each year, an extra $45,000 in the bank and an idyllic life in "God's country". This is what the Mudgee community has prescribed to entice city doctors to the famed wine region in central western NSW in a bold bid to ease a dire shortage of GPs. "We like to call it their prescription for a better work lifestyle in the vines," Doctors 4 Mudgee Region program co-ordinator Kate Day, who is also a winemaker, tells AAP. The bucolic remedy has been enough to attract a new GP to the picturesque gold rush village of Gulgong, while a doctor from Queensland will return to work in Mudgee after training in the region. The push to get more doctors, complete with financial incentives provided by three mining companies, began after Gulgong's only GP left in early 2024 and clinics in nearby Mudgee closed their books. Locals began travelling to neighbouring towns - or even 260km to the city - to see a doctor, an experience familiar to many across rural Australia where there are only 78 full-time GPs per 100,000 population. After securing two new GPs, the region has an ambitious plan to lure 10 more from urban centres over the next three years in a sophisticated campaign that could inspire other towns. "What rural communities can take from this is locals, companies and businesses banding together, not sitting on their laurels and waiting for someone else to come in," Ms Day says. "It is community-led change." The Mudgee region's campaign, which also includes a "concierge" service linking doctors to childcare, schools, housing and even hairdressers, is one of many examples of country communities fighting for healthcare equity. Half a million Australians live in "GP deserts", receiving 40 per cent fewer services per person than the national average, according to research by the Grattan Institute. With poorer access to check-ups, screening and medication, the burden of chronic disease is higher in rural and remote areas and life expectancy is shorter. Fed-up and frustrated, many rural communities have gone to extreme lengths to bridge the gap. The WA Wheatbelt town of Quairading offered a $1 million salary package for a GP in 2023, while locals in Kerang, northern Victoria, parodied the Queen hit I Want To Break Free in a social media video called We Want a GP. When two long-time western NSW Bogan Shire GPs approached retirement in 2015, the council began operating a medical centre at a cost to ratepayers of between $600,000 and $900,000 per year. The Royal Flying Doctor Service has stepped in to run clinics in several rural towns, including Robinvale, in Victoria, where the only GP to 2500 people was under immense pressure. While these grassroots efforts are admirable, rural communities should not have to do the work of federal and state governments, Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges chair Sanjay Jeganathan says. "Australia is a wealthy nation and each and every Australian should receive the same kind of healthcare irrespective of their postcode," Associate Professor Jeganathan tells AAP. As a radiologist in Perth, Dr Jeganathan regularly sees patients who have travelled thousands of kilometres from Broome or Karratha. The council, which represents all 15 specialist medical colleges in Australia, believes a "grow your own" approach will boost the numbers of doctors in the bush. It has introduced guidelines for colleges to prioritise rural candidates for specialist training, as junior doctors from the bush are more likely to stay in the regions, as are those who get exposure to country life during their studies. "There is no point in training them in Sydney and Melbourne because the likelihood is they are going to stay in the big cities," Dr Jeganathan says. "We should be really putting our efforts into developing rural and regional training hubs with a selection of appropriate trainees to work there." The constant cry from the bush to train more doctors is slowly turning the tide. Australia's two GP colleges are oversubscribed for the first time in many years and more trainees are expressing a desire to work outside the cities, Rural Doctors Association president RT Lewandowski says. But once they arrive in the bush, a Medicare system designed for the city won't necessarily cover the cost of their work. Rural GPs tend to see fewer patients with more complex health conditions in longer consultations, while also possibly working across clinics, hospital wards and emergency departments. Those things partly contribute to an estimated $6.5 billion annual spending shortfall on rural health. "There is a tremendous underspend ... on rural patients," Dr Lewandowski says. "Our mortality is still determined by our postcode." Dr Lewandowski was among of a group of doctors who visited Canberra in late June, imploring national leaders to help train more doctors and fix "piecemeal" rural health funding. The message is being heard, with the federal government delivering more doctor training places as a start. "I don't think the government is closing their eyes to the problem but it's going to be a hard change," Dr Lewandowski says. "We should have an ample supply of GPs but I don't see that realistically coming super soon." In Mudgee, the local campaign is proving successful if a little frustrating. "You do look and think 'wow, this is a major problem, what is our state and federal government doing?'" Ms Day says. "But it doesn't matter what problem you have in life, if you want to fix it, you've got to go out there and do it yourself. "That's what country towns do so well, they just pull up their sleeves and get on with it." Unlimited fresh air and blue skies, a daily walk to work, a healthy drop of fine wine, two NRL games each year, an extra $45,000 in the bank and an idyllic life in "God's country". This is what the Mudgee community has prescribed to entice city doctors to the famed wine region in central western NSW in a bold bid to ease a dire shortage of GPs. "We like to call it their prescription for a better work lifestyle in the vines," Doctors 4 Mudgee Region program co-ordinator Kate Day, who is also a winemaker, tells AAP. The bucolic remedy has been enough to attract a new GP to the picturesque gold rush village of Gulgong, while a doctor from Queensland will return to work in Mudgee after training in the region. The push to get more doctors, complete with financial incentives provided by three mining companies, began after Gulgong's only GP left in early 2024 and clinics in nearby Mudgee closed their books. Locals began travelling to neighbouring towns - or even 260km to the city - to see a doctor, an experience familiar to many across rural Australia where there are only 78 full-time GPs per 100,000 population. After securing two new GPs, the region has an ambitious plan to lure 10 more from urban centres over the next three years in a sophisticated campaign that could inspire other towns. "What rural communities can take from this is locals, companies and businesses banding together, not sitting on their laurels and waiting for someone else to come in," Ms Day says. "It is community-led change." The Mudgee region's campaign, which also includes a "concierge" service linking doctors to childcare, schools, housing and even hairdressers, is one of many examples of country communities fighting for healthcare equity. Half a million Australians live in "GP deserts", receiving 40 per cent fewer services per person than the national average, according to research by the Grattan Institute. With poorer access to check-ups, screening and medication, the burden of chronic disease is higher in rural and remote areas and life expectancy is shorter. Fed-up and frustrated, many rural communities have gone to extreme lengths to bridge the gap. The WA Wheatbelt town of Quairading offered a $1 million salary package for a GP in 2023, while locals in Kerang, northern Victoria, parodied the Queen hit I Want To Break Free in a social media video called We Want a GP. When two long-time western NSW Bogan Shire GPs approached retirement in 2015, the council began operating a medical centre at a cost to ratepayers of between $600,000 and $900,000 per year. The Royal Flying Doctor Service has stepped in to run clinics in several rural towns, including Robinvale, in Victoria, where the only GP to 2500 people was under immense pressure. While these grassroots efforts are admirable, rural communities should not have to do the work of federal and state governments, Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges chair Sanjay Jeganathan says. "Australia is a wealthy nation and each and every Australian should receive the same kind of healthcare irrespective of their postcode," Associate Professor Jeganathan tells AAP. As a radiologist in Perth, Dr Jeganathan regularly sees patients who have travelled thousands of kilometres from Broome or Karratha. The council, which represents all 15 specialist medical colleges in Australia, believes a "grow your own" approach will boost the numbers of doctors in the bush. It has introduced guidelines for colleges to prioritise rural candidates for specialist training, as junior doctors from the bush are more likely to stay in the regions, as are those who get exposure to country life during their studies. "There is no point in training them in Sydney and Melbourne because the likelihood is they are going to stay in the big cities," Dr Jeganathan says. "We should be really putting our efforts into developing rural and regional training hubs with a selection of appropriate trainees to work there." The constant cry from the bush to train more doctors is slowly turning the tide. Australia's two GP colleges are oversubscribed for the first time in many years and more trainees are expressing a desire to work outside the cities, Rural Doctors Association president RT Lewandowski says. But once they arrive in the bush, a Medicare system designed for the city won't necessarily cover the cost of their work. Rural GPs tend to see fewer patients with more complex health conditions in longer consultations, while also possibly working across clinics, hospital wards and emergency departments. Those things partly contribute to an estimated $6.5 billion annual spending shortfall on rural health. "There is a tremendous underspend ... on rural patients," Dr Lewandowski says. "Our mortality is still determined by our postcode." Dr Lewandowski was among of a group of doctors who visited Canberra in late June, imploring national leaders to help train more doctors and fix "piecemeal" rural health funding. The message is being heard, with the federal government delivering more doctor training places as a start. "I don't think the government is closing their eyes to the problem but it's going to be a hard change," Dr Lewandowski says. "We should have an ample supply of GPs but I don't see that realistically coming super soon." In Mudgee, the local campaign is proving successful if a little frustrating. "You do look and think 'wow, this is a major problem, what is our state and federal government doing?'" Ms Day says. "But it doesn't matter what problem you have in life, if you want to fix it, you've got to go out there and do it yourself. "That's what country towns do so well, they just pull up their sleeves and get on with it." Unlimited fresh air and blue skies, a daily walk to work, a healthy drop of fine wine, two NRL games each year, an extra $45,000 in the bank and an idyllic life in "God's country". This is what the Mudgee community has prescribed to entice city doctors to the famed wine region in central western NSW in a bold bid to ease a dire shortage of GPs. "We like to call it their prescription for a better work lifestyle in the vines," Doctors 4 Mudgee Region program co-ordinator Kate Day, who is also a winemaker, tells AAP. The bucolic remedy has been enough to attract a new GP to the picturesque gold rush village of Gulgong, while a doctor from Queensland will return to work in Mudgee after training in the region. The push to get more doctors, complete with financial incentives provided by three mining companies, began after Gulgong's only GP left in early 2024 and clinics in nearby Mudgee closed their books. Locals began travelling to neighbouring towns - or even 260km to the city - to see a doctor, an experience familiar to many across rural Australia where there are only 78 full-time GPs per 100,000 population. After securing two new GPs, the region has an ambitious plan to lure 10 more from urban centres over the next three years in a sophisticated campaign that could inspire other towns. "What rural communities can take from this is locals, companies and businesses banding together, not sitting on their laurels and waiting for someone else to come in," Ms Day says. "It is community-led change." The Mudgee region's campaign, which also includes a "concierge" service linking doctors to childcare, schools, housing and even hairdressers, is one of many examples of country communities fighting for healthcare equity. Half a million Australians live in "GP deserts", receiving 40 per cent fewer services per person than the national average, according to research by the Grattan Institute. With poorer access to check-ups, screening and medication, the burden of chronic disease is higher in rural and remote areas and life expectancy is shorter. Fed-up and frustrated, many rural communities have gone to extreme lengths to bridge the gap. The WA Wheatbelt town of Quairading offered a $1 million salary package for a GP in 2023, while locals in Kerang, northern Victoria, parodied the Queen hit I Want To Break Free in a social media video called We Want a GP. When two long-time western NSW Bogan Shire GPs approached retirement in 2015, the council began operating a medical centre at a cost to ratepayers of between $600,000 and $900,000 per year. The Royal Flying Doctor Service has stepped in to run clinics in several rural towns, including Robinvale, in Victoria, where the only GP to 2500 people was under immense pressure. While these grassroots efforts are admirable, rural communities should not have to do the work of federal and state governments, Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges chair Sanjay Jeganathan says. "Australia is a wealthy nation and each and every Australian should receive the same kind of healthcare irrespective of their postcode," Associate Professor Jeganathan tells AAP. As a radiologist in Perth, Dr Jeganathan regularly sees patients who have travelled thousands of kilometres from Broome or Karratha. The council, which represents all 15 specialist medical colleges in Australia, believes a "grow your own" approach will boost the numbers of doctors in the bush. It has introduced guidelines for colleges to prioritise rural candidates for specialist training, as junior doctors from the bush are more likely to stay in the regions, as are those who get exposure to country life during their studies. "There is no point in training them in Sydney and Melbourne because the likelihood is they are going to stay in the big cities," Dr Jeganathan says. "We should be really putting our efforts into developing rural and regional training hubs with a selection of appropriate trainees to work there." The constant cry from the bush to train more doctors is slowly turning the tide. Australia's two GP colleges are oversubscribed for the first time in many years and more trainees are expressing a desire to work outside the cities, Rural Doctors Association president RT Lewandowski says. But once they arrive in the bush, a Medicare system designed for the city won't necessarily cover the cost of their work. Rural GPs tend to see fewer patients with more complex health conditions in longer consultations, while also possibly working across clinics, hospital wards and emergency departments. Those things partly contribute to an estimated $6.5 billion annual spending shortfall on rural health. "There is a tremendous underspend ... on rural patients," Dr Lewandowski says. "Our mortality is still determined by our postcode." Dr Lewandowski was among of a group of doctors who visited Canberra in late June, imploring national leaders to help train more doctors and fix "piecemeal" rural health funding. The message is being heard, with the federal government delivering more doctor training places as a start. "I don't think the government is closing their eyes to the problem but it's going to be a hard change," Dr Lewandowski says. "We should have an ample supply of GPs but I don't see that realistically coming super soon." In Mudgee, the local campaign is proving successful if a little frustrating. "You do look and think 'wow, this is a major problem, what is our state and federal government doing?'" Ms Day says. "But it doesn't matter what problem you have in life, if you want to fix it, you've got to go out there and do it yourself. "That's what country towns do so well, they just pull up their sleeves and get on with it." Unlimited fresh air and blue skies, a daily walk to work, a healthy drop of fine wine, two NRL games each year, an extra $45,000 in the bank and an idyllic life in "God's country". This is what the Mudgee community has prescribed to entice city doctors to the famed wine region in central western NSW in a bold bid to ease a dire shortage of GPs. "We like to call it their prescription for a better work lifestyle in the vines," Doctors 4 Mudgee Region program co-ordinator Kate Day, who is also a winemaker, tells AAP. The bucolic remedy has been enough to attract a new GP to the picturesque gold rush village of Gulgong, while a doctor from Queensland will return to work in Mudgee after training in the region. The push to get more doctors, complete with financial incentives provided by three mining companies, began after Gulgong's only GP left in early 2024 and clinics in nearby Mudgee closed their books. Locals began travelling to neighbouring towns - or even 260km to the city - to see a doctor, an experience familiar to many across rural Australia where there are only 78 full-time GPs per 100,000 population. After securing two new GPs, the region has an ambitious plan to lure 10 more from urban centres over the next three years in a sophisticated campaign that could inspire other towns. "What rural communities can take from this is locals, companies and businesses banding together, not sitting on their laurels and waiting for someone else to come in," Ms Day says. "It is community-led change." The Mudgee region's campaign, which also includes a "concierge" service linking doctors to childcare, schools, housing and even hairdressers, is one of many examples of country communities fighting for healthcare equity. Half a million Australians live in "GP deserts", receiving 40 per cent fewer services per person than the national average, according to research by the Grattan Institute. With poorer access to check-ups, screening and medication, the burden of chronic disease is higher in rural and remote areas and life expectancy is shorter. Fed-up and frustrated, many rural communities have gone to extreme lengths to bridge the gap. The WA Wheatbelt town of Quairading offered a $1 million salary package for a GP in 2023, while locals in Kerang, northern Victoria, parodied the Queen hit I Want To Break Free in a social media video called We Want a GP. When two long-time western NSW Bogan Shire GPs approached retirement in 2015, the council began operating a medical centre at a cost to ratepayers of between $600,000 and $900,000 per year. The Royal Flying Doctor Service has stepped in to run clinics in several rural towns, including Robinvale, in Victoria, where the only GP to 2500 people was under immense pressure. While these grassroots efforts are admirable, rural communities should not have to do the work of federal and state governments, Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges chair Sanjay Jeganathan says. "Australia is a wealthy nation and each and every Australian should receive the same kind of healthcare irrespective of their postcode," Associate Professor Jeganathan tells AAP. As a radiologist in Perth, Dr Jeganathan regularly sees patients who have travelled thousands of kilometres from Broome or Karratha. The council, which represents all 15 specialist medical colleges in Australia, believes a "grow your own" approach will boost the numbers of doctors in the bush. It has introduced guidelines for colleges to prioritise rural candidates for specialist training, as junior doctors from the bush are more likely to stay in the regions, as are those who get exposure to country life during their studies. "There is no point in training them in Sydney and Melbourne because the likelihood is they are going to stay in the big cities," Dr Jeganathan says. "We should be really putting our efforts into developing rural and regional training hubs with a selection of appropriate trainees to work there." The constant cry from the bush to train more doctors is slowly turning the tide. Australia's two GP colleges are oversubscribed for the first time in many years and more trainees are expressing a desire to work outside the cities, Rural Doctors Association president RT Lewandowski says. But once they arrive in the bush, a Medicare system designed for the city won't necessarily cover the cost of their work. Rural GPs tend to see fewer patients with more complex health conditions in longer consultations, while also possibly working across clinics, hospital wards and emergency departments. Those things partly contribute to an estimated $6.5 billion annual spending shortfall on rural health. "There is a tremendous underspend ... on rural patients," Dr Lewandowski says. "Our mortality is still determined by our postcode." Dr Lewandowski was among of a group of doctors who visited Canberra in late June, imploring national leaders to help train more doctors and fix "piecemeal" rural health funding. The message is being heard, with the federal government delivering more doctor training places as a start. "I don't think the government is closing their eyes to the problem but it's going to be a hard change," Dr Lewandowski says. "We should have an ample supply of GPs but I don't see that realistically coming super soon." In Mudgee, the local campaign is proving successful if a little frustrating. "You do look and think 'wow, this is a major problem, what is our state and federal government doing?'" Ms Day says. "But it doesn't matter what problem you have in life, if you want to fix it, you've got to go out there and do it yourself. "That's what country towns do so well, they just pull up their sleeves and get on with it."
West Australian
15 hours ago
- West Australian
The $45,000 golden prescription to heal rural health
Unlimited fresh air and blue skies, a daily walk to work, a healthy drop of fine wine, two NRL games each year, an extra $45,000 in the bank and an idyllic life in "God's country". This is what the Mudgee community has prescribed to entice city doctors to the famed wine region in central western NSW in a bold bid to ease a dire shortage of GPs. "We like to call it their prescription for a better work lifestyle in the vines," Doctors 4 Mudgee Region program co-ordinator Kate Day, who is also a winemaker, tells AAP. The bucolic remedy has been enough to attract a new GP to the picturesque gold rush village of Gulgong, while a doctor from Queensland will return to work in Mudgee after training in the region. The push to get more doctors, complete with financial incentives provided by three mining companies, began after Gulgong's only GP left in early 2024 and clinics in nearby Mudgee closed their books. Locals began travelling to neighbouring towns - or even 260km to the city - to see a doctor, an experience familiar to many across rural Australia where there are only 78 full-time GPs per 100,000 population. After securing two new GPs, the region has an ambitious plan to lure 10 more from urban centres over the next three years in a sophisticated campaign that could inspire other towns. "What rural communities can take from this is locals, companies and businesses banding together, not sitting on their laurels and waiting for someone else to come in," Ms Day says. "It is community-led change." The Mudgee region's campaign, which also includes a "concierge" service linking doctors to childcare, schools, housing and even hairdressers, is one of many examples of country communities fighting for healthcare equity. Half a million Australians live in "GP deserts", receiving 40 per cent fewer services per person than the national average, according to research by the Grattan Institute. With poorer access to check-ups, screening and medication, the burden of chronic disease is higher in rural and remote areas and life expectancy is shorter. Fed-up and frustrated, many rural communities have gone to extreme lengths to bridge the gap. The WA Wheatbelt town of Quairading offered a $1 million salary package for a GP in 2023, while locals in Kerang, northern Victoria, parodied the Queen hit I Want To Break Free in a social media video called We Want a GP. When two long-time western NSW Bogan Shire GPs approached retirement in 2015, the council began operating a medical centre at a cost to ratepayers of between $600,000 and $900,000 per year. The Royal Flying Doctor Service has stepped in to run clinics in several rural towns, including Robinvale, in Victoria, where the only GP to 2500 people was under immense pressure. While these grassroots efforts are admirable, rural communities should not have to do the work of federal and state governments, Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges chair Sanjay Jeganathan says. "Australia is a wealthy nation and each and every Australian should receive the same kind of healthcare irrespective of their postcode," Associate Professor Jeganathan tells AAP. As a radiologist in Perth, Dr Jeganathan regularly sees patients who have travelled thousands of kilometres from Broome or Karratha. The council, which represents all 15 specialist medical colleges in Australia, believes a "grow your own" approach will boost the numbers of doctors in the bush. It has introduced guidelines for colleges to prioritise rural candidates for specialist training, as junior doctors from the bush are more likely to stay in the regions, as are those who get exposure to country life during their studies. "There is no point in training them in Sydney and Melbourne because the likelihood is they are going to stay in the big cities," Dr Jeganathan says. "We should be really putting our efforts into developing rural and regional training hubs with a selection of appropriate trainees to work there." The constant cry from the bush to train more doctors is slowly turning the tide. Australia's two GP colleges are oversubscribed for the first time in many years and more trainees are expressing a desire to work outside the cities, Rural Doctors Association president RT Lewandowski says. But once they arrive in the bush, a Medicare system designed for the city won't necessarily cover the cost of their work. Rural GPs tend to see fewer patients with more complex health conditions in longer consultations, while also possibly working across clinics, hospital wards and emergency departments. Those things partly contribute to an estimated $6.5 billion annual spending shortfall on rural health. "There is a tremendous underspend ... on rural patients," Dr Lewandowski says. "Our mortality is still determined by our postcode." Dr Lewandowski was among of a group of doctors who visited Canberra in late June, imploring national leaders to help train more doctors and fix "piecemeal" rural health funding. The message is being heard, with the federal government delivering more doctor training places as a start. "I don't think the government is closing their eyes to the problem but it's going to be a hard change," Dr Lewandowski says. "We should have an ample supply of GPs but I don't see that realistically coming super soon." In Mudgee, the local campaign is proving successful if a little frustrating. "You do look and think 'wow, this is a major problem, what is our state and federal government doing?'" Ms Day says. "But it doesn't matter what problem you have in life, if you want to fix it, you've got to go out there and do it yourself. "That's what country towns do so well, they just pull up their sleeves and get on with it."
Perth Now
15 hours ago
- Perth Now
The $45,000 golden prescription to heal rural health
Unlimited fresh air and blue skies, a daily walk to work, a healthy drop of fine wine, two NRL games each year, an extra $45,000 in the bank and an idyllic life in "God's country". This is what the Mudgee community has prescribed to entice city doctors to the famed wine region in central western NSW in a bold bid to ease a dire shortage of GPs. "We like to call it their prescription for a better work lifestyle in the vines," Doctors 4 Mudgee Region program co-ordinator Kate Day, who is also a winemaker, tells AAP. The bucolic remedy has been enough to attract a new GP to the picturesque gold rush village of Gulgong, while a doctor from Queensland will return to work in Mudgee after training in the region. The push to get more doctors, complete with financial incentives provided by three mining companies, began after Gulgong's only GP left in early 2024 and clinics in nearby Mudgee closed their books. Locals began travelling to neighbouring towns - or even 260km to the city - to see a doctor, an experience familiar to many across rural Australia where there are only 78 full-time GPs per 100,000 population. After securing two new GPs, the region has an ambitious plan to lure 10 more from urban centres over the next three years in a sophisticated campaign that could inspire other towns. "What rural communities can take from this is locals, companies and businesses banding together, not sitting on their laurels and waiting for someone else to come in," Ms Day says. "It is community-led change." The Mudgee region's campaign, which also includes a "concierge" service linking doctors to childcare, schools, housing and even hairdressers, is one of many examples of country communities fighting for healthcare equity. Half a million Australians live in "GP deserts", receiving 40 per cent fewer services per person than the national average, according to research by the Grattan Institute. With poorer access to check-ups, screening and medication, the burden of chronic disease is higher in rural and remote areas and life expectancy is shorter. Fed-up and frustrated, many rural communities have gone to extreme lengths to bridge the gap. The WA Wheatbelt town of Quairading offered a $1 million salary package for a GP in 2023, while locals in Kerang, northern Victoria, parodied the Queen hit I Want To Break Free in a social media video called We Want a GP. When two long-time western NSW Bogan Shire GPs approached retirement in 2015, the council began operating a medical centre at a cost to ratepayers of between $600,000 and $900,000 per year. The Royal Flying Doctor Service has stepped in to run clinics in several rural towns, including Robinvale, in Victoria, where the only GP to 2500 people was under immense pressure. While these grassroots efforts are admirable, rural communities should not have to do the work of federal and state governments, Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges chair Sanjay Jeganathan says. "Australia is a wealthy nation and each and every Australian should receive the same kind of healthcare irrespective of their postcode," Associate Professor Jeganathan tells AAP. As a radiologist in Perth, Dr Jeganathan regularly sees patients who have travelled thousands of kilometres from Broome or Karratha. The council, which represents all 15 specialist medical colleges in Australia, believes a "grow your own" approach will boost the numbers of doctors in the bush. It has introduced guidelines for colleges to prioritise rural candidates for specialist training, as junior doctors from the bush are more likely to stay in the regions, as are those who get exposure to country life during their studies. "There is no point in training them in Sydney and Melbourne because the likelihood is they are going to stay in the big cities," Dr Jeganathan says. "We should be really putting our efforts into developing rural and regional training hubs with a selection of appropriate trainees to work there." The constant cry from the bush to train more doctors is slowly turning the tide. Australia's two GP colleges are oversubscribed for the first time in many years and more trainees are expressing a desire to work outside the cities, Rural Doctors Association president RT Lewandowski says. But once they arrive in the bush, a Medicare system designed for the city won't necessarily cover the cost of their work. Rural GPs tend to see fewer patients with more complex health conditions in longer consultations, while also possibly working across clinics, hospital wards and emergency departments. Those things partly contribute to an estimated $6.5 billion annual spending shortfall on rural health. "There is a tremendous underspend ... on rural patients," Dr Lewandowski says. "Our mortality is still determined by our postcode." Dr Lewandowski was among of a group of doctors who visited Canberra in late June, imploring national leaders to help train more doctors and fix "piecemeal" rural health funding. The message is being heard, with the federal government delivering more doctor training places as a start. "I don't think the government is closing their eyes to the problem but it's going to be a hard change," Dr Lewandowski says. "We should have an ample supply of GPs but I don't see that realistically coming super soon." In Mudgee, the local campaign is proving successful if a little frustrating. "You do look and think 'wow, this is a major problem, what is our state and federal government doing?'" Ms Day says. "But it doesn't matter what problem you have in life, if you want to fix it, you've got to go out there and do it yourself. "That's what country towns do so well, they just pull up their sleeves and get on with it."
