Medical professionals in regional areas of South Australia have been given a significant funding boost with the announcement of a $19.5 million contract signed between Country Health SA and the Rural Doctors Workforce Agency.

The State’s Health Minister Jack Snelling says the agreement will allow the RDWA to contract GPs and nurses in rural and remote areas on CHSA’s behalf.

“During the past decade, South Australia’s rural medical workforce has grown from 392 GPs and registrars to 531 and we have the current lowest rural doctor vacancy rate in Australia,” Mr Snelling said, “the new agreement, valued at approximately $19.5 million over three years, means the communities in remote and rural South Australia will continue to benefit from a high-quality medical workforce.”

The Rural Doctors Workforce Agency is a not-for-profit, non-Government body that provides the most support from a single agency in the area.