[Claire Halliday]

News on ABC online today about towns in Western Australia’s north-west suffering GP shortages after the announcement of the closure of local clinics in two major communities.

Two Sonic HealthPlus clinics – in South Hedland and Newman – are due to close in the next several weeks and locals report concerns that pressure on already busy regional hospitals will reach breaking point.
The reason for the closure, apparently, is the ongoing difficulty many regional centres, rural communities and city-based medical clinics have been facing since the pandemic outbreak – sourcing doctors and staff.
With the local community in one town already experiencing two-week waits to see GPs, it’s expected wait times will blow-out to more than four weeks. And in a town of 16,000 people, having no GP is definitely not good enough.

Have you adjusted plans to retire to a regional community because of lack of access to quality healthcare? Are you experiencing GP shortages where you live? Tell us your story in the comments below.

[FrankC]

I live in Latrobe, a small townn of approix. 4500 people.in Northwest Tasmania . I booked an appointment to see a GP to review my recent Cholesterol levels. I bookedd this on the 29th May, and the earliest appointment is 29th June., and we have 14 GPs, two of which are not taking new patients. I say “a GP”, because it depends how soon you want to see a doctor, otherwise you take whoever is available, the days of ‘my GP’ are long gone . In December, 2022 , I saw a visiting specialist in a temporary O.P. department at our local hospital regarding my COPD. I was told if I cancelled that visit the earliest I could see him would be October 2023 !! , and millions are being spent reconfiguring the current outpatient department to make a larger department, for specialists that are like hen’s teeth here in Tasmania, which is similar to conditions on the mainland , I have been informed..

[Author]

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