Charlotte Varcoe
DIFFICULTIES securing general practitioners and registrars in regional areas has left Pangula Mannamurna Aboriginal Corporation with only one scheduled general practitioner onsite for six months.
It comes following the current general practitioner registrar’s six month placement ending in early August.
As a result, from August 8, there will only be scheduled visiting general practitioners onsite to provide community appointments, limiting the number of available appointments and leaving Pangula with a general practitioner for only five hours per week.
According to the Rural Doctors Workforce Agency, Mount Gambier has about 30 general practitioners, nine registrars and three visiting doctors throughout Pangula Mannamurna, Hawkins Medical Clinic, Ferrers Medical Clinic, Dr Try Medical Clinic and Village Medical Clinic.
This number does not include general practitioners or registrars who work at the Mount Gambier and District Hospital.
Pangula Mannamurna chief executive Andrew Birtwistle-Smith said difficulty finding adequate housing was also an issue for incoming staff.
He said Pangula was currently in discussions with a new registrar to replace the outgoing one, stating it was common for registrars to complete six to 12 months at one practice before moving on.
“We here in the regional areas are also competing against other regional and metropolitan areas in regards to lifestyle,” Mr Birtwistle-Smith said.
“There are incentives to come here to our region and we try to promote not just Pangula and Aboriginal health but also the strong community here in Mount Gambier and the benefit of working here when we do recruit staff.
“One of those benefits is that people are able to learn and experience Aboriginal culture here in the region and we see that as a positive but also try and promote the Limestone Cost overall as well.”
He said the general practitioner and registrar shortage was not specific to Aboriginal health, with Pangula and Mount Gambier in competition with other areas.
“It is my belief that this issue is reaching a critical level and is starting to have an impact on the community as all of us can see across the board,” Mr Birtwistle-Smith said.
“Overall it is a critical issue and I believe it is at a critical level of availability of general practitioners and registrars in regional areas which will only continue to impact on communities if a larger response is not looked at.”
Rural Doctors Workforce Agency chief executive officer Lyn Poole said the turnover of registrars within the region could come from them needing training in more than one location, thus needing to relocate.
“There is a stronger need for general practitioners overall and obviously some towns are in better shape than others because when we accept the ageing population, we accept that there will be more pressure on general practitioners due to needing their assistance more,” Ms Poole said.
“We also need to understand that life choices have changed and many people don’t want to work 50 hours per week anymore.”
The chief executive officer said there were about 620 registrars and general practitioners across the country, stating it remained “static” throughout the past two to three years.
“Relatively speaking, Mount Gambier is better than many areas in regards to general practitioners and its population but that means nothing to people if they cannot get an appointment to see their doctor,” Ms Poole said.
“There will be a continuous search for general practitioners in Mount Gambier and regional areas for a while now and that is not going to change.”
