Western Australia has a shortage of 950 doctors, and has fewer doctors per head of population than anywhere else in Australia, a report says.
The study, commissioned by Curtin University, has called for an urgent program to train more medical students in the state to meet the needs of the rapidly growing population.
It highlights several recent studies, which confirmed WA continued to have the lowest levels of doctors in Australia despite having the fastest-rising population.
Health consultant Dr Felicity Jefferies, a former executive director of the WA Country Health Service, said the challenges facing WA's health service included:
* a current shortage of 950 doctors
* a reliance on 1150 more overseas-trained doctors than the national average
* fewer doctors overall per head of population than the rest of Australia
* fewer General Practitioners (GPs) per head of population than the rest of Australia
* fewer medical students and doctors in training per head of population than the rest of Australia
* more overseas-trained doctors per head of population than the rest of Australia
The university has proposed the opening of a Curtin Medical School in 2016 - subject to government approval and Australian Medical Council accreditation - including a $60 million commitment from the college.
