GPs quicker and cheaper in some areas

THE number of Australians who say they have had to wait too long for a GP can be up to three times higher in some areas than others.

The National Health Performance Authority (NHPA) released its inaugural report on Thursday on the country's 61 Medicare Locals regions - and found the experience of patients fluctuated wildly across parts of the country.

Medicare Locals were set up by the federal government as part of its wider national health reforms.

They're charged with improving the coordination and integration of services within particular regions.

The New England area in northern NSW recorded the worst result when it came to waiting too long for a GP, with 28 per cent of patients complaining of a lengthy delay.

That was three times higher than the best performing Medicare Local, the Metro North Brisbane region, where only eight per cent of people said they had waited too long.

The number who thought cost was a barrier to seeing a GP also varied between the regions.

In the ACT, 15 per cent complained of the problem, while the South West Melbourne region recorded the best figure of just three per cent.

NHPA chief executive Diane Watson said because the statistics were taken from 2011, the year Medicare Locals were introduced, it was too early to determine the success of the new health organisations.

The statistics would instead be used to drive local improvements, she said.

"We'll be monitoring this information across time to see the degree to which the clinicians and Medicare Locals are making a difference in these measures over time," Dr Watson told AAP.

"The purpose is to help drive change by putting local information in the hands of local decision makers, and the areas that should draw our attention are the ones where we have largest variation across the country, for example the cost and the wait times."

Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek used the release of the NHPA report to attack the coalition over its plan to scrap Medicare Locals.

"While the data in this report pre-dates the establishment of Medicare Locals, it reminds us that access to primary health care varies from place to place and we need to continue improving the system," she said in a statement.

"At a time when patients require better access to primary care, the Liberals want to slash around 3000 jobs from Medicare Locals.

"That is a cut of $1.2 billion out of primary health care over three years."

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