Amber-Jade Sanderson: Health Minister embarks on 10-day mission to recruit Indian healthcare staff

Indian doctors and nurses will be targeted to plug gaps in WA hospitals during a 10-day mission spearheaded by Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson. The visit to Chennai, Hyderabad, Nashik and Trivandrum comes amid forecasts the State will require an additional 5000 healthcare workers over the next decade. India is the world’s largest exporter of medical professionals — and Ms Sanderson said she intended to establish WA as the destination of choice for clinicians pursuing greener pastures. “India has State and national strategies to produce more highly-skilled, quality healthcare workers than they need to boost migration to other countries,” she said. “They expect to produce as many as one million healthcare workers yearly over the next decade. “I can’t wait to tell them all about WA and our world-class public health system. “I want to make sure they know about our beautiful beaches, stunning native forests, perfect weather, but most importantly, our hospitals and our opportunities for them.” Ms Sanderson’s first overseas mission begins on Thursday and will include opening four separate health-skilling symposiums and delivering a keynote speech at BioAsia 2024, the continent’s leading healthcare forum. She will also present a keynote at UmagineTN 2024 — a technology, entrepreneurship and skills summit — and host a luncheon with India’s healthcare industry. Meetings are also planned with the Indian state skills development corporations responsible for training medical students. The Labor Government has slashed TAFE fees for nurses in a bid to bolster staffing numbers but, faced with an ageing population, Ms Sanderson said it was “simply not possible” for WA to train all its healthcare workers locally. “The Cook Government has a range of domestic recruitment initiatives, but we know overseas healthcare workers will continue to play a key role in our healthcare system,” she said. Nearly two years after WA reopened its borders following the COVID pandemic, the health system is still battling widespread skills shortages. Junior doctors, theatre nurses and midwives are among the roles in the highest demand. Specialists — including paediatricians, psychiatrists, and surgeons — are also in short supply, contributing to long wait times for consultations and some medical procedures. Ms Sanderson has previously expressed frustration at the lack of places being offered in WA’s specialist medical colleges, which acts as a handbrake on local training opportunities. She has also spoken about WA competing against other Australian jurisdictions and countries like the UK, US and Canada amid rapidly escalating global demand for healthcare workers. “Work is underway on the WA (medical) Workforce Strategy . . . but we already know migrant healthcare workers will continue to play an important role in our healthcare system,” Ms Sanderson said. Police Minister Paul Papalia generated national headlines in the UK last year during an audacious recruitment drive to lure British and Irish nurses, police officers and tradies to WA. That mission was pitched as a “raid” on overseas workers and captivated the British tabloids, with Mr Papalia also appearing on the nationally televised breakfast show Good Morning Britain. The visit generated massive interest from UK and Irish cops, with more than 1500 experienced officers applying to migrate to WA. WA Police now plans to recruit 750 of those cops over the next five years.