ADHD reforms are a preview of what GPs can do: NSW GPs launch election platform

The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) has launched its 2027 NSW State Election Platform, calling on all parties to back a coordinated package to cut specialist wait times, improve access to affordable healthcare and ease pressure on hospitals.

The proposals build on NSW’s nation-leading ADHD reforms, which show how enabling GPs to provide more care can deliver faster access for patients and reduce pressure on the health system, according to RACGP NSW&ACT Chair Dr Bek Hoffman.

“Our patients are waiting too long for many non-GP specialist services,” she said.

“Compared with a decade ago, there are fewer available hospital beds, more patients waiting too long for care, and higher hospital spending without better results. While continued investment in hospitals remains essential, a stronger primary care system is critical to improving health outcomes.

“GPs have shown we can turn that around – just look at what we’ve been able to do for patients with ADHD in a year.

“Almost 28,000 people have received a script from a GP since the reforms began. That’s almost 28,000 people who can now access treatment through general practice, reducing their reliance on hard-to-get specialist appointments.

“NSW’s ADHD reforms show what’s possible when GPs are empowered to provide more care. Our election platform builds on that success to improve patient access and ease pressure on hospitals. ADHD could be just the beginning.”

The RACGP NSW&ACT election platform calls for the next NSW Government to make better use of GPs’ skills by:

• funding GPs in Schools so children can access earlier care for ADHD, developmental and behavioural concerns, and other physical and mental health needs
• establishing pathways for patients to access care earlier using GPs with Special Interests (GPwSI) in priority fields like dermatology, paediatrics, women’s health, obesity management, geriatrics, and ENT
• placing General Practice Liaison Officers in each of the state’s Local Health Districts to reduce unnecessary referrals to hospital specialist care, get patients out of hospital sooner, and patient readmissions to hospital after discharge

• expanding community-based treatment, multidisciplinary care, vaccination and after-hours general practice to reduce avoidable pressure on NSW hospitals.

Many of the RACGP’s individual reforms would provide immediate relief for many patients, but together, would provide complementary and mutually reinforcing benefits for the whole health system, Dr Hoffman and her colleagues say.

Under the proposed GPs in Schools program, an initial pilot in 20 public high schools in disadvantaged communities could identify when a student is having difficulties with focus, learning, participation, or wellbeing and with the family’s consent, connect them with their usual GP or help them establish an ongoing relationship with a local practice.

The GP would assess the child’s overall health, development and circumstances, provide appropriate care, and coordinate further support through a GP with a Specific Interest, paediatrician, psychologist, or other health professional.

Dr Corin Miller, a Rural Generalist and GP with Special Interests in ADHD and paediatrics based in Merimbula, said her community was already seeing the benefits of connecting schools, families and general practice.

“Before the ADHD reforms, students could wait two years or more for the paediatric clinic,” Dr Miller said.

“Since appropriately trained GPs have been enabled to manage ADHD care, we haven’t needed to refer any students solely for ADHD.

“Before the program connected them with care, 40% of the students referred by their school had unmet health needs – behavioural, emotional, or learning concerns. Only 3% had access to paediatrician.

“Until the ADHD reforms, all of those children had to be referred into the paediatric clinic for ADHD care. Now, it’s zero. We can manage ADHD in-house, with vastly reduced waiting times for care.

“Only half of the students accessing the school GP had a usual GP. Helping those families establish a relationship with a practice opened the door not only to developmental care, but to the full range of healthcare every child needs.

“Having access to the right care, in the right place, at the right time, doesn’t just benefit the children and families, but also reduces rates of teacher burnout. It’s a win-win.”

RACGP NSW&ACT Chair Dr Hoffman said this shows what can be achieved when patients and GPs have the right systems, funding, and support to work to their full potential.

“Our election platform applies that lesson across the health system,” she said.

“It’s a practical package of proposals that work together to reduce unnecessary waits, strengthen early intervention, free up hospital capacity, and make NSW healthcare easier to navigate.

“A GP in Schools program would mean a school can refer a child who needs support to their usual GP to coordinate assessment, or link them with a GP to coordinate their care if they don’t yet have one.

“Where a patient needs specialist care, often a GP with a Special Interests could provide it sooner and at a lower cost – as we’ve shown with ADHD.

“GP Liaison Officers would help ensure those who need hospital care get in, and that GPs have clear pathways where care in the community is a better option.

“Patients shouldn’t bounce between disconnected services or wait months for care a GP with the right training and skills could safely provide in the community.

“At the 2027 state election, every party has an opportunity to take that success further and build a health system that is easier for patients to access, more efficient for clinicians and more sustainable for NSW.”

~ENDS

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