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‘This is a cry for help’: More GP clinics shutting down
Doctors are pleading with governments to ‘step up and step in’, as a GP shortage and skyrocketing costs causes to two Queensland practices to close their doors.
Around 71% of GPs say they had experienced feelings of burnout.
Two Queensland medical centres have announced their closure, adding their names to an alarmingly long list of practices no longer able to survive amid an ‘extreme doctor shortage’.
This week, Bowen’s Herbert Street Family Medical Centre and the Clermont Country Practice both revealed plans to close their doors within a matter of months.
Director of the Bowen clinic Jean Andersen says the centre has done everything possible to remain open but, after 14 years of practice, it ‘simply cannot afford to pay for [locum] GPs anymore’.
‘We tried, and tried, and tried to keep the doors open, but everyone’s still in shock and I’m still processing everything,’ she told newsGP.
‘My biggest concern is continuity of care for our patients … our community needs primary healthcare and we’re not the only community that’s facing this and having these challenges.
‘We’ve developed an action plan of what we need to do to make sure we’re still looking after our patients right up to the closure and afterwards by referring them on.’
Ms Andersen said with around 200 GP clinics already closing across the country in the past year, the situation is only getting worse.
She said her practice’s closure will not only impact her patients, many who are already vulnerable, but it will put extreme pressure on health services in the area.
Ms Andersen now fears more closures are on the way right across Australia if urgent and meaningful funding is not made available.
‘There’s just a national shortage of GPs and it’s a crisis, especially for our remote communities,’ she said.
‘We need to make sure there’s that continuity of care in primary healthcare because we do have different complexities and severity of conditions and illnesses.
‘This is a cry for help and governments really need to step up and step in.’
Around 400 kilometers down the road at Clermont, Dr Sarah McLay is facing a similar situation.
This week, she announced ‘with a heavy heart’ her practice would also be closing – gradually lessening its opening days until it shuts completely in around six months.
‘The cost of living is going up, the viability of these clinics continues to be challenged, and to be honest, I just don’t see that changing in the immediate future,’ Dr McLay said in an emotional social media post.
‘The Government has plans, but they’re not telling us clearly what that will look like, and it’s very hard to sustain a business in the face of such uncertainty.
‘I’m swimming against a really strong current here and in an effort to provide a service, even though it’s so desperately needed, I’m actually really burning myself out and hurting my family.’
Last year, newsGP revealed at least 184 general practices had closed around Australia in just 12 months, with the rate of new openings falling short of making up the difference.
These closures continue to impact every state and territory and there are fears that, without significant change, this unfortunate trend will only continue.
At the same time, according to the latest RACGP Health of the Nation report, just 20% of surveyed GPs indicated they would recommend their profession to junior colleagues and 29% intend to retire in the next five years.
And the situation is becoming more dire each year, with 71% of GPs saying they had experienced feelings of burnout while overall job satisfaction plummeted to 66%.
For Dr McLay, this data rings true.
‘I am not going to lie, I’m actually really looking forward to having some time with my family and not living in this consulting room as I have for the last five years,’ she said.
‘I’m really desperately in need of this change, and I’m not entirely clear as to what the future will hold, but I’ll be spending the next six months exploring all the opportunities that are out there.’
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