Seeing a different general practitioner at each appointment impacts on the quality of health care, according to 98 of 101 people surveyed about the Taree doctor shortage.
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Public perception of GP services in the Taree area is captured in the results of a survey conducted by the Manning River Times.
It reveals that Manning residents want a relationship with a GP, will try to book to see the same GP, and believe that seeing a different GP at each visit does not give you great health care. They want the government to change the system and to give Australian-trained GPs incentives to work in rural areas – there is limited support for recruiting overseas-trained GPs to solve our GP shortage problem.
The catalyst for the survey is the recent revelation that the Australian government recently relisted Taree to the Districts of Workforce Shortage (DWS) system. The listing means Taree “is an area of Australia in which the population’s need for medical services has not been met”, according to the Department of Health.
It’s a crisis that is forcing medical centres to recruit overseas and last week Dr Simon Holliday of Albert Street and Harrington Medical centres gave voice to his frustration and revealed the current state-of-play in GP retention and recruitment.
Read the full story ‘GP shortage prompts call for end to political ‘pass-the-parcel’ here.
SURVEY RESULTS
The Times’ survey asked the following questions and 101 people responded over two days. The results are:
Do you seek to see the same GP when you book an appointment?
88 – YES and 13 – NO
Do you feel it is important to build a relationship spanning many years with a GP?
100 – YES and 1 – NO
Do you think seeing a different GP at each appointment impacts on the quality of health care?
98 - YES and 3 – NO
Do you support the Australian Government decision to recruit overseas trained doctors to try to fix the GP shortage?
38 – YES and 63 – NO
Do you think Australian-trained GPs should be given incentives to work in rural areas for set time periods?
101 – YES and 0 – NO
People also gave voice to their experiences of trying to access medical care on the Times’ Facebook page.
I’ve called eight doctors between Taree and Forster before getting a same day appointment.
- Mel Hobden
Kell Maree: “It takes me three weeks to get into my doctor. So I actually have two – one if I’ve just got a simple cold, and my normal one when I’ve got a more serious problem.”
Channtha Kong: “I went from same day appointments with GPs in Sydney to waiting one week every single time here in Taree. It’s so inconvenient and it really does affect my health. Living here in the past year I've only seen the doctors three times compared to twice a month.”
Jennifer Wallis: “Nearly all of the doctor’s surgeries have their books closed unless you already have a family member already going to that surgery. We did have a medical centre here where you could get an appointment anytime but now you have to wait two or three weeks to get in unless it’s an emergency, and sometimes you still can’t get in. They had seven doctors at one stage and now it’s down to two. It’s pretty pathetic in this day and age. It was never like this when I was a child.”
It took us six to eight weeks to get a GP for my mum who came up here and went into care due to everyone’s books being closed.
- Lee Grace Brown-Shaw
Fiona Watt: “We need more medical centres open at night and on weekends as 90 per cent of people in accident and emergency could be cleared with a GP clinc in the hospital. I don’t care if the doctors are trained overseas - Taree could employ one ethnic group so the doctors have the support of their fellow countrymen when they get here so they don’t feel so isolated.”
Sharon Smyth: “I would love to see a group of doctors coming from a similar region and able to support each other culturally, and I would also like to see us as locals stepping up to welcome them to our beautiful Manning Valley. As both a descendant of a first fleet convict and many migrants this is an issue that has gone on long enough. Welcome anyone who can improve our region and get on with improving our local health outcomes for everyone. Bravo Dr Holliday for speaking up.”
Gary Harrison: “This problem needs to be addressed by the government as the local population is expanding which will only exacerbate the problem and place more pressure on the hospital emergency department. Incentives to get more doctors up here are surely needed. Time to start writing letters to our local members (of parliament) I'm thinking.”
