The results of the AGPA survey on COVID  in the Community –  GP Care  indicates that most GPs consider the risks to their Practices and other patients to be too high and they are too busy with the regular roles of General Practice; so they not intending to participate in the program.

352 GPs  responded to the survey.

Key points from the survey are:

• What level of clinical risk would you attribute to patients with COVID compared to usual General Practice care?
  • 99.9% of respondents consider that COVID patients ( when compared with usual patients) represented a very high (77.8%) or high  (21%) risk.
• How supported do you feel by PHNs, State Health or the Federal Government to care for patients with COVID in the community?
  • 92% of GPs felt very unsupported(60%) or unsupported (32%). Only 2% felt supported.
•   How appropriate and sustainable do you think the funding for GP care of COVID Positive patients is?
  • 99.4% of GPs consider the funding to be very inappropriate / unsustainable ( 93.2%) or inappropriate / unsustainable (6.3%).
• Will you be participating in care of COVID  Positive+ patients in the community under this funding model?
  • 88% of GPs are definitely not (68%)  or probably not (20%) participating.
  • Only 4% said they were definitely ( 1.2%) or probably (3.9%) participating.
• If you are not intending to  participate in the roll out what are the reasons? (Choose as many answers as appropriate)
• • N/A I will be participating –  2%
  • Too busy with usual care – mental health, chronic disease care –  54.3%
  • Too busy with COVID immunisations – 15.1%
  • Need a break from providing front line care, especially mental health and chronic disease for patients during the pandemic –  21.3%
  • Not economic under the funding model – 89.7%
  • Not enough PPE – 70%
  • No access to fit testing – 53.7%