Medical experts visit region

MORE SUPPORT CALLED FOR: Association president Dr Michelle Atchison, vice president Dr John Williams, and chief executive officer Dr Samantha Mead notice difficulty maintaining general practitioners within the region.

Charlotte Varcoe

LEADERS of the Australian Medical Association South Australia have met with health officials this week during a whirl-wind tour of the Limestone Coast.

The visit comes following the state government’s announcement of the Covid-ready plan which outlines opening the state’s borders on November 23.

Association president Dr Michelle Atchison, vice president Dr John Williams, and chief executive officer Dr Samantha Mead spent three days travelling across the region to gain an insight into the issues surrounding regional medical practices, including hospitals and general practitioners.

Dr Atchison said throughout their travels, a number of issues had surfaced including general practitioner recruitment within the Millicent and District Hospital and Health Service.

“The general practice [in Millicent] seems to be running fairly well with some issues about recruitment and keeping doctors in regional areas,” Dr Atchison said.

“But certainly the emergency department of the hospital seems to be an area of concern due to being staffed by locum doctors.

“It was a bit of an eye opener with the town being three-quarters of an hour from Mount Gambier and we found it feels fairly isolated from everywhere.

“The Millicent hospital is now an area of concern with staffing issues and a degrading relationship with general practice also seemed to be an issue.”

She also said the hospital was relying on locum doctors and the goodwill to come and work in the emergency department which does not have a doctor in the hospital 24-hours a day.

In regards to the Mount Gambier and District Hospital, Dr Atchison said mental health continued as a concern for the facility with the current public service being understaffed and difficult to access.

“Putting more focus on mental health services, especially at a time like this with Covid-19 causing a lot of anxiety, is a really important thing,” she said.

“But we also found that the Keith and District Medical Centre was also significantly understaffed and I believe Mount Gambier possibly is also.”

She said staffing issues would remain as a concern for the region with many general practitioners using the Limestone Coast as a training ground.

“I find it difficult to believe that people would come here to Mount Gambier, conduct their training and then leave once again,” Dr Atchison said.

“This region is such a beautiful area and a lovely place to bring up a family so we will continue to pursue more general practitioners to stay in the region.”