No doctor for two years as South Gippsland health crisis deepens

TARWIN Lower has been without a visiting doctor for two years and the situation is getting worse as the fallout from the closure of Leongatha Healthcare continues to ripple through South Gippsland.

Residents raised the lack of a GP as their top concern when Gippsland South MP and Nationals Leader Danny O’Brien took his mobile office to the Tarwin Lower Community Health Centre.

The centre’s president Teresa Davison said the community’s sole health professional was a nurse practitioner who visited for half a day once a week but that was no longer enough.

“Since the closure of Leongatha Healthcare, the nurse practitioner has seen on average 40 patients for each consultation session, and up to 60 on the busiest days,” Ms Davison said.

“We haven’t had a doctor for two years.”

Leongatha Healthcare closed without warning on January 16 leaving about 8000 patients without a GP and with limited access to their medical records.

Rail Trail Medical opened in Leongatha in early March to fill some of the gap but the transfer of patient records has remained the dominant community concern, with hundreds of formal requests lodged and few complied with.

Mr O’Brien has written to the Health Minister calling for a “whatever is necessary” approach to bypass the hurdles blocking record transfers.

“I’ve been working with my colleagues Melina Bath and Mary Aldred on how to address the issues, most particularly that of getting access to patient records,” Mr O’Brien said.

He said GPs in the district were frustrated at not being able to access records as it extended consultation times and was a barrier to providing the best care.

“Although this is a private matter between clinics and patients, we need the State Government to step in and help,” Mr O’Brien said.

The crisis extends well beyond Leongatha.

Ms Davison said the lack of public transport at Tarwin Lower and Venus Bay meant patients were being forced to drive when they were unwell or simply not going to a doctor at all.

“Transport is very limited, people are driving when they shouldn’t be driving because of medical conditions,” Ms Davison said.

The centre has been calling for a visiting GP since at least February with the permanent population across Tarwin Lower and Venus Bay totalling more than 2000 and rising to more than 5000 during peak holiday periods.
Centre secretary Kath Molna said it would be fantastic to have a visiting GP return.

“Some doctors have been able to do outreach and visit regularly,” Ms Molna said.

Mr O’Brien pointed to Foster as an example of what worked, noting the hospital’s maternity facilities and operating theatre helped the town retain its GPs.

“More country kids need to train as GPs,” Mr O’Brien said.

“Country health is a bit like country housing, they’re under-funding regional healthcare with a push to centralise.

“Bigger is not necessarily better, local is better.”