The doctor’s advice: come and work here

Dr Hugh Seward is a Geelong man through and through. He was born and raised in Geelong, and has been a practising GP in his hometown for 30 years. In fact, some of his adult patients today were babies he delivered in the early years of his practice in Newtown.

Add Dr Seward’s stint as Geelong Football Club’s doctor for 25 years and his CV as a Geelong expert is in no doubt. So if he says the area has a doctor shortage, you can believe him.

“Our doctors are first-class and general practitioners are well serviced in this community, but our problem is that there are not enough to go around,” Dr Seward says. “We really have a major GP shortage.”

He says the area also needs more ancillary medical professionals such as physiotherapists, psychologists and dieticians.

As chief executive of the GP Association of Geelong, Jason Trethowan is at the front-line of the recruitment drive to attract doctors to the region. The tagline for the drive’s advertisements reads: come for the job, stay for the lifestyle.

“It sums it up really,” he says. “When doctors set up here they get the added benefits of great infrastructure, a strong social network, great schools and the beach and country living. Living in a provincial city you get all the benefits without the hassle of the capital cities.”

The association provides support to GPs, offering networking and educational opportunities. Mr Trethowan estimates there are 260 general practitioners in the Geelong area, but another 45 are needed now, just to keep up with the demands of a growing population.

“New general practices have been established, and they have attracted new doctors to the region, but we need a lot more,” he says. “But we have noticed, over the past six months or so, that there have been increasing numbers of GPs moving to Geelong.

“We have a great reputation, given we are a defined area with one public hospital and two private hospitals and a very strong private practice community. While a medical practice would be a sound business investment in Geelong, there are many opportunities to either buy into or work within existing practices.”

Mr Trethowan hopes many of the students at Deakin University’s School of Medicine will remain in the region or in other regional areas where there are shortages.

“Our association works closely with Deakin, our members provide support for those students, and we hope many will become long-term members of the community when their training is complete.”

Dr Seward says there is no doubt Geelong offers medical professionals job opportunities and a great lifestyle. “They describe Melbourne as one of the world’s most liveable cities, but for many aspects of lifestyle, I think Geelong is wonderful,” he says. “It’s small in size but it has lots of good features, particularly the ability to get around in a short space of time. It’s a 10-minute trip from one part of town to another.

“We can’t boast the attractions of the cultural enclaves that people like in Melbourne. We don’t have masses of restaurants or theatres but we do have a fairly active cultural diversity, and we are only an hour away from the heart of Melbourne.

“And if you live in Geelong you can be on a beautiful coastal beach in under 30 minutes. That’s the time it takes for most people even living close to Melbourne to drive to work.”