‘Please be patient’, doctor’s plea to Leongatha community

THE extent of the disaster around the sudden closure of Leongatha Healthcare late last Friday afternoon is still being revealed.

On Gippsland ABC Radio on Monday morning this week, veteran Leongatha medico Dr Hugh Chisholm appealed to “the wonderful community of Leongatha” to be patient while the problems are sorted out.

He also declared that health records were secure.

But he also provided detail about the depth of the problems associated with the clinic’s closure, including that the lease on the building at 14 Koonwarra Road, Leongatha, had expired.

A spokesperson for the healthcare clinic has since taken issue with that statement but it’s unclear whether the lease has or hasn’t expired. What is clear is that Dr Chisholm told Gippsland ABC Radio that it had expired.

Dr Chisholm also laid the responsibility for the closure squarely at the feet of Leongatha doctor Chris Webster who came to national prominence following the key evidence he gave in the Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial.

If the closure of Leongatha Healthcare, the venue that has cared for generations of Leongatha and district people, is a symptom of that heinous event it will indeed be heaping tragedy on top of tragedy for the Leongatha community.

News that the clinic had closed on Friday afternoon was not well known within the Leongatha community, and according to Dr Chisholm, it also took the staff and doctors at the clinic by complete surprise.

Articles appeared in The Age and Herald Sun on the weekend quoting Dr Webster and there was significant social media chatter locally.

But many people are still completely unaware that the clinic has closed.

“Look, we're doing all we can to find a solution. I'd like to reassure them that their medical records are safe, and we will gain access to them at some stage,” said Dr Chisholm.

“If they have an urgent medical need, there will be extra doctors working at the hospital today and this week, probably, and they can get care there. But for non-urgent medical needs, I think people just need to be patient and understanding, and we'll deal with those as soon as we come up with an alternative solution.

“We were caught totally by surprise because we only got notified at 4pm on Friday it's closing, and yeah, we're in a state of shock and disbelief, really.

“But yeah, we are working together. The team is united, a wonderful lot of staff and doctors, and we'll do what we can to look after the health and wellbeing of this community.”

So, what happens next?

“Well, I'm hoping that some common sense will prevail and that Dr Webster will open up the clinic to allow people to get healthcare.”

And if not?

“I'm hoping that that doesn't happen, and I'm hoping that we can find an alternative solution that will provide good medical care for this community.”

It's a tricky situation?

“Very tricky. I did talk to a lawyer on Saturday. He'd never seen anything like it. So most unusual, you know, that we were given no warning of the pending closure.”

Asked what the community should do, Dr Chisholm said “be patient”.

“I think they just have to wait and be patient. And, yeah, at the moment, it's the responsibility of Dr Webster, because he owns the business, and he's knocked everybody else out.”

In the meantime, those with health needs should contact the Leongatha Hospital (Gippsland Southern Health Service) or attend their Urgent Care Centre at 66 Koonwarra Road, Leongatha, phone (03) 56675555.

Mushroom trial fallout

A key witness in the Erin Patterson mushroom murder trial, and outspoken about her guilt afterwards, despite patient confidentiality regulations, Dr Webster told The Age on the weekend that the clinic’s financial woes and its ultimate closure were directly attributable to his sanctions for speaking out over Erin Patterson’s crimes.

He said it was no longer viable to run his clinic at large scale, after the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners stripped him of his right to supervise other doctors.

The punishment, he said, meant some doctors at his clinic had to reduce their working hours, rendering consultation rooms useless.

Leongatha Healthcare’s website lists 19 tenant doctors at the practice, which is understood to have several hundred patients.

“The decision had an immediate effect and obviously a devastating long-term effect,” Dr Webster told The Age.

He says he plans to reopen a smaller clinic sometime soon but few other details are available.