The Canberra Liberals would pay up to $100,000 towards the HECS debt of 30 medical students if they commit to being a general practitioner in the ACT for five years.
The party will also establish new walk-in centres where general practitioners will work alongside nurses and give incentives to practices to provide after-hours care.
The centres would be located in south Tuggeranong, west Belconnen, north Gungahlin and the inner south.
The current government is either building or has committed to health centres in these regions but they would be different to the already existing walk-in centres as they would be largely appointment based.
But under the Liberals plan they would become walk-in centres where nurses and GPs work together.
Canberra Liberals health spokeswoman Leanne Castley has claimed these measures could deliver an extra 200,000 GP appointments in Canberra every year. She said the measures could also reduce emergency department pressures.
"More than 40 per cent of emergency department presentations each month are categorised as non-urgent or semi-urgent and could be seen by a GP and more patients are presenting to ED with chronic conditions that have been undiagnosed for long periods due to poor access to primary care," she said.
"By enhancing primary care, the ACT becomes more attractive to healthcare professionals, easing pressures on emergency services and ultimately providing better care for Canberrans."
The ACT government explored adding GPs to the existing five walk-in centres but they ditched the proposal following a consultation which showed some reluctance from stakeholders on blending GPs with the nurse-led clinics.
The Liberals are also hopeful they can attract new GPs to Canberra by offering up to $100,000 towards their HECS debt if they commit to being a general practitioner in the territory for five years.
The debt would be paid off upon a person committing to stay in Canberra for five years.
The party would also boost funding for a research chair of general practice with the Australian National University Medical School in an attempt to make Canberra as place of choice for doctors specialising in general practice.
The Liberals have also promised to exempt general practices from payroll tax. The party has been highly critical of the tax since it started to be implemented on practices last year.
Legislative changes would also be pursued under a Liberal government to allow general practitioners to prescribe and diagnose attention deficit disorder. The Liberals would also expand the scope of practice for pharmacists.
"By expanding GP care through these initiatives and commitments, Canberrans will have better access to healthcare services outside of emergency departments," Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee said.
"Primary care has long been neglected by Labor and the Greens and as a result we now have one of the worst health systems in the country.
"A Canberra Liberals government will respect GPs and prioritise primary care which will play a big role in taking pressure off the emergency department that is at breaking point."
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has called on the next ACT government to introduce incentive payments to support GPs in training.
Labor has promised a $11 million fund to encourage bulk billing. New bulk-billing general practices would be eligible for a share in the funding as would existing practices that expand and general practices that bulk bill children.
The ACT Greens have previously promised to establish four government-run general practitioner clinics.
Independents for Canberra have said they would push for $40,000 grants for GP registrars to train in the ACT if they hold the balance of power following the election.
