CLOSING WAS ONLY OPTION
Doctor at Millmerran Medical Centre says…
A LONG-SERVING Millmerran doctor has revealed why he had to close the town’s only medical centre.
Dr Andrew Reedy, whose Millmerran Medical Centre had been the community’s main point of call for more than 20 years, announced last week the clinic would not reopen in 2020.
Dr Reedy said a combination of doctors finishing their contracts and quitting was the reason behind the decision to close.
It comes just a few weeks after Dr Reedy said he was stood down by the Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service, pending an investigation.
Along with running the clinic, Dr
Reedy and his colleagues had been the on-call medical staff at the Millmerran Hospital for several years.
THE former owner of the Millmerran Medical Centre has spoken for the first time since the GP clinic suddenly closed, saying the decision was out of his hands.
Longtime Millmerran GP Dr Andrew Reedy last week shocked the community he had served for more than 20 years, announcing the fourdoctor practice would not reopen in 2020.
The clinic had more than 5500 open files and about 3000 active patients.
The centre’s GPs also served as the Millmerran Hospital’s on-call medical team, with the Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service having to bring in temporary doctors to cater for the busy facility.
Dr Reedy, who said he had been stood down by DDHHS pending an investigation into unknown complaints, said closing the centre was the only option after the doctors opted to leave.
“The reason we didn’t reopen is I had no staff,” he said.
“The Millmerran Medical Centre was a four-doctor centre (and) we had two doctors whose contracts were finishing up, and then the other doctor hired to replace one of them pulled out.
“The third doctor also quit, and I can’t run a medical practice by myself.
“We had one nurse practitioner and five nursing staff
— (it was) 15 jobs in total, including myself.
“Myself and the practice manager made the decision that it was untenable.” Dr Reedy, who revealed to
The Courier-Mail he’d worked 168 days in a row without a break back in 2005-2006, thanked the Millmerran community for their support.
“I’ve had a lot of positive support from the people of this community (since the closure),” he said.
“It was a pleasure to serve them for 20 years, and I apologise for closing on such short notice, and I wish them well.”
Dr Reedy said all staff would receive the redundancy payouts to which they were entitled.
The Millmerran community is still reeling from the closure, which Mayor Paul Antonio described as “catastrophic” for the town.
The Millmerran Commerce and Progress Association called for the clinic to be reopened as soon as possible.