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The top reasons why UK GPs are moving to Australia

Published on: 19 Nov 2015

Are we pushing our GPs to move down under? With news of strikes, seven day work weeks and GP job satisfaction reported to be at an all time low - is there any wonder why our GPs may be searching for greener pastures?

Australia's GP system is arguably more efficient than those in the UK. Prospect Health tells us why Australia's GP sector is attracting UK GPs.

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Increased pay

Aussie GPs can earn an average of £110,000 per annum whilst GPs in the UK earn an average of £70,000. This could reflect the cost of living in Australia vs the UK, but, yet if we look at statistics comparing Perth and London, you’ll find that Perth is 33% ‘cheaper’ to live in than London.

Lighter workloads

12 hour work days are not uncommon for UK GPs, for Australian GPs - it’s almost unheard of. In Australia, GPs work 38 hours compared to the UK’s 40 hour weeks. A UK GP's workload is often burdened by excessive paperwork, taking on too many patients and time wasted on prescribing repeat prescriptions.

Comparatively, Australians had much lighter workloads to boast. They spent an average of 51 minutes on paperwork whilst UK GPs spent a total of 81 minutes on the task, and spent almost a third less of time on prescribing repeat prescriptions, according to this study.

More time spent with patients

10 minute consultations are a bit of a controversial topic for UK GPs. Some GPs find the practice inefficient, others find it helpful and some find ways to make it work for themselves and for their patients. Either way, this concept does not exist in Australia. GPs do not work on a time limit basis, which can allow you to give patients who may need it, more attention than others.

Better lifestyle?

Well, this depends on your outlook on life. The weather is definitely warmer than it is in the UK, but whether you’ll have a better lifestyle depends on you. Find out all you need to know about working life and living life in Australia here.

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