Bremer Bay offers doctors $450,000 and a 4WD to make the move to the idyllic beachside town in Western Australia

A remote beach town is so desperate for a doctor that it is offering the right candidate up to $450,000 a year, free rent and a car.

Livingston Medical is advertising for a doctor to base himself in Bremer Bay, 500km south-east of Perth, to work at two of its clinics.

In addition to the remuneration package, the GP would retain a generous 70 per cent of billings from practices in Bremer Bay and nearby Jerramungup.

Each of the clinics currently has access to just one temporary doctor, with the nearest permanent GP based almost 120 miles away in Albany.

Livingston Medical chief executive Rachel Livingston said the practice is looking for “the Swiss army knife of doctors”.

Residents of Bremer Bay (indicated on the map, right) currently travel 125 miles to a GP in Albany

“Being the only doctor in town is challenging, so we need someone of a high caliber,” she said Perth Now on Tuesday.

‘You need someone who can do general practice and surgery in an emergency, as well as things like mental health, obstetrics and anaesthesia.’

The role is worth between $300,000 and $450,000 a year and the GP will receive a range of unusual benefits, including free accommodation in a five-bedroom house with a 4WD.

Ms Livingston added that the job is also extremely rewarding because “you can see that you are really making a difference.”

“You become deeply ingrained in the community and you end up caring passionately about the people, who become your family, so to speak,” she said.

Medical access in rural Australia has deteriorated, with the Royal Flying Doctor Service finding that people living in very remote areas are more than twice as likely to die from preventable causes.

A map released by the lifesaving service in March showed a serious shortage of GP, nursing, mental health and dental clinics outside the country’s metropolitan areas.

Between 2020 and 2021, $6.55 billion more was spent on urban health care compared to services in the bush – an average of $848.02 per person.

The lack of healthcare contributes to many premature deaths, with residents of Australia’s most remote areas likely to die 14.3 years earlier than those living in cities.

Remote areas have high Aboriginal populations and many of the health problems are related to lifestyle issues.

Diabetes was the second leading cause of death in very remote Australian communities, while in major urban areas it is only seventh.

2023 from the Flying Doctor All the best for the Bush Report found that three in ten Australians living outside major cities do not have access to healthcare due to a lack of physical clinics, affordability and suitability.

Between 2022 and 2023, the Flying Doctor flew to help 36,937 Australians, which equates to about four every hour.

A shocking map (pictured) showed a serious lack of GP, nursing, mental and dental clinics outside the country’s metropolitan and regional areas

The Royal Flying Doctor Service found that 32,359 Australians will not have adequate access to a GP by 2023

The successful Bremer Bay applicant will become the county’s sole GP, actively reducing the number of Australians without access to a GP from 32,359.

To be eligible for the position, an applicant must have current registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, rrelevant experience or willingness to train and develop as a Rural Generalist and asstrong commitment to delivering high-quality patient care.