Specialist Obstetrician Locum Scheme

The Specialist Obstetrician Locum Scheme (SOLS) was established as a pilot project in 2006 and since that time has endeavored to maintain and improve the access of rural women to quality local obstetric care by providing the rural obstetric workforce with efficient and cost-effective locum support. SOLS also aims to sustain safety and quality in rural practice by facilitating access to personal leave, professional development or breaks from on-call commitments for rural obstetricians.

SOLS was designed to support these aims by:

• providing support for all non-Metropolitan obstetricians and GP obstetricians in RA 2-5, and
• strengthening the synergies between the specialist obstetric and GP rural workforce.

SOLS provides a subsidy to specialist and GP obstetricians for up to 14 days to assist in covering the costs of locum hire, along with travel costs for the locum. The SOLS secretariat assists in arranging placements and organising locum provider numbers and registration if required.

SOLS is an initiative of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the NSW Rural Doctors Network and the Rural Doctors Association of Australia. SOLS is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing.

For more information about the program, visit the SOLS website.

To register your interest to become a locum, email the SOLS secretariat at sols@ranzcog.edu.au or call 03 9412 2912.

For information on the latest rates and eligibility criteria for locums under SOLS, download the SOLS brochure.

For more information about other subsidised locum schemes, visit the National Rural Locum Program website.