World Family Doctor Day: GPs Vital For Mental Health
On World Family Doctor Day 2025, the world is celebrating the unique role specialist GPs play in delivering personalised, comprehensive, and continuous care to patients and communities, particularly when it comes to supporting mental health.
Today, and every day, the Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) recognises GPs around Australia for their vital work nurturing mental wellness in their patients through preventive care, early and effective diagnosis, and holistic, person-centred support.
“Every year, specialist GPs care for more than 22 million Australians, providing the expert advice people need to keep them healthy and out of our hospitals,” RACGP President Dr Michael Wright said.
“The Government has recognised the value of general practice through an historic $8.5 billion commitment to the GP workforce and Medicare, which struck a major chord with the public in this year’s election.”
Dr Wright pointed out that mental health represents one of the main reasons for people seeking out their GP, with the RACGP’s 2024 Health of the Nation again listing it among the top three reasons for patient presentations: “One in five Australians aged 16–85 – 4.3 million people – experienced a mental illness in the last 12 months, while nearly half of us have experienced a mental illness at some point in our lives.
“When it comes to mental health care, GPs are often the first port of call, providing accessible quality care for our patients.
“GPs also play a vital role in ensuring the care patients receive is holistic and continuous, providing support at every stage of a mental illness and coordinating care with other specialists and hospitals or urgent care clinics.
“Alongside higher patient rebates for longer consults to address chronic, complex healthcare needs, the RACGP has advocated for an increase to mental health rebates to make care more accessible and affordable for every patient.
“We also want to ensure GPs are prioritising their own mental health and wellbeing. We need to look after the mental health of every member of our communities, and when our GPs prioritise their wellbeing, they can provide better care for their patients.
“GPs help build resilient communities, and at the RACGP we believe that every person, in every postcode should be able to access the quality care they need from a trusted GP who knows them and their history.”
https://www.racgp.org.au/gp-news/media-releases/2025-media-releases/may-2025/world-family-doctor-day-gps-vital-for-mental-healt