Clinics issue looms
Addressing issues surrounding doctor and doctor-support services across the region looms as a major task for new Member for Mallee Anne Webster.
Regional provider Tristar Medical Group has wasted little time in indicating it would ‘welcome’ Dr Webster’s support to cut through crippling bureaucratic hurdles.
Tristar Medical Group, a private business dedicated to providing regional services, operates clinics throughout much of the Wimmera and Mallee.
It has its headquarters in Mildura,
opened the first of its many clinics in Warracknabeal and helps meet pressing medical needs in rural areas.
Group clinical operations executive director Anne Gardner said a Medicare freeze, changes in supervision and government regulations that delayed or prevented doctors from establishing or building regional practices was hurting the business.
“As a consequence Tristar has gone through an intense period whereby our business has been directly challenged. This has led to windows of financial and workforce capacity strain,” she said.
“Tristar would welcome new Federal Member for the Mallee Anne Webster supporting some of the measures required to relieve the pressure on general practitioners in their service provision.
“We would also welcome her in working with the general practice industry to establish financially viable models that would attract GPS to and retain them in the region.”
The message came as Dr Webster waited to formally declare election victory in Mallee.
It also came on the back of a national survey that showed regional Australia was in desperate need of investment to improve staff levels and hospital facilities.
The Australian Medical Association Rural Health Issues Survey 2019 revealed rural doctors believed more staff and workable rosters was the most critical priority for improving rural-health outcomes.
Work to be done
Dr Webster said she was following ‘with interest’ circumstances surrounding Tristar.
“My intention is to hit the ground running with health care across the electorate, looking at the models in place and discussing with government about incentive schemes,” she said.
“There’s a lot of work to done and I’m very enthusiastic to see quality health care be available across the electorate no matter where people live.”
Ms Gardner said a lack of consultation from policy makers had led to increasing financial challenges for general practice in regional areas.
“Building a sustainable workforce has become littered with barriers,” she said.
“The ongoing Medicare freeze is making bulk-billed GP primary health care unaffordable. Tristar has remained committed to provide bulkbilled GP services to regional areas, however, the increasing costs of running a general practice is making this extremely hard to continue.”
“Tristar does not want to see the clock turned back more than a decade to a time when people living in regional communities had to pay outof-pocket costs for a visit to their doctor. It doesn’t want a return to a time where no GPS in a community were accepting new patients due to untenable workloads,” Ms Gardner said.
She confirmed circumstances had forced Tristar to restructure and close services in many small regional communities.
“We in the industry have financially viable solutions, however, we need a seat at the table in order for these cost-effective fixes to become part of the framework,” she said.
Tristar Medical Group formed in 2003. Its national spread includes Wimmera clinics at Ararat, Horsham, Kaniva, Minyip, Murtoa, Nhill, Rupanyup and Warracknabeal.
“We actually don’t have a GP shortage in Australia – we have an inability to place GPS into regional practices due to layers of challenges,” Ms Gardner said.
“These challenges include protracted delays with the Department of Immigration processing suitable highly skilled doctors; delays and or inconsistencies with medical board approval for supervising regional GPS; and training pathways for GPS, which is under review, that have been less than effective in achieving desired outcomes for GP progression through to fellowship.”