Cecil Plains wins in fight for a GP clinic

FOR the past six months, Cecil Plains residents have been forced to drive the onehour round trip to Millmerran to see a doctor after their local GP shut.

Those long car rides are due to end soon with Darling Downs Health announcing it will establish a part-time clinic in the town.

The clinic will be staffed by a visiting doctor once a week and a visiting nurse on

site twice a week.

The decision was the result of a tireless campaign by Sandy Kingshott.

She petitioned Darling Downs Health to open a dedicated GP clinic.

“We lost our GP when the Millmerran Medical Centre closed so we have been without a doctor since before Christmas,” she said. The centre had sent a doctor to Cecil Plains.

The petition gathered more than 600 signatures.

“I received a letter from

the Deputy Premier Steven Miles to say that the petition had passed through the parliament and that the clinic would open on June 22,” Mrs Kingshott said.

“The community is very happy because we have a lot of older people here and some need daily or weekly check-ups.”

The clinic will be housed in the Anglicare Cecil Plains Bush Nursing Services building, off Geraghty St.

But a delay in equipping the building for telehealth

and other IT-based services has delayed the opening.

A Darling Downs Health spokeswoman said the organisation hoped the rooms would be ready soon.

“We are disappointed by this unavoidable delay and are working to get the required IT infrastructure in place,” she said.

“We would like to thank the Cecil Plains community for its patience, and we will let them know when we have a confirmed start date for their healthcare service.”

Initially, the clinic will be serviced by rotating staff based at the Millmerran Multi-Purpose Health Service with the long-term aim of a permanent doctor and nurse assigned to the area.

Mrs Kingshott vowed to continue her fight until Darling Downs Health assigned a permanent doctor.

In the meantime, Cecil Plains residents can visit the Millmerran MPHS Primary Health Clinic, from 9am-5pm Monday to Friday, and from 9am to 1pm on Saturday.

Picture: Kev Farmer THRILLED: Community members including (back, from left) Brooke Ball, Mylee Ball, Kate Tribe, Darcy Tribe, Marcia Sutton, Annie Tribe, Kaylin Tribe and (front) principal petitioner Sandy Kingshott celebrate their success in securing a regular GP clinic in Cecil Plains after being without a doctor since 2019.