By Angela Dorizas

Health services in regional Western Australia are in crisis, with councils bearing the cost of attracting GPs to their communities.

That was the take-home message of an emergency forum held in Perth on Wednesday.

Organised by the WA Local Government Association (WALGA), the forum included more than 100 representatives from the health industry and local government sector.

The forum heard that in rural Australia approximately 5000 lives were lost each year due to inadequate health services and in many regional communities, it was common for people to wait up to four days to see a doctor.

WALGA president Tory Pickard said regional councils were bearing the cost of attracting doctors to regional areas, paying them up to $1700 a day and offering greater incentives.

“Local governments are increasingly carrying the burden of providing primary health services to their communities and the mood of the forum was that this should be more the responsibility of state and federal governments,” Cr Pickard said in a statement.

“This insights from today’s forum should highlight to the other spheres of government the urgent need to work more closely with local government to redress this crisis.”

Cr Pickard said there were reports of a “bidding war” between regional councils to secure GPs.

“The forum was told of one wheatbelt local government that was paying 10 per cent of its rate income to have a doctor in the town,” he said.

Cr Pickard said the situation was becoming more unsustainable for regional councils.

“Quite simply, it can’t go on,” he said.

“Regional communities are being stretched well beyond what is reasonable and lives are being put at risk.”

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