List of Cairns medical centres which have closed down

Far North doctors are being forced to defy their instincts and turn away sick patients as a number of medical services shut down. SEE THE LIST.

SWAMPED Far Northern doctors are being forced to serve a cold shoulder to patients turning up with nowhere to go as practices across the region slam shut.

A survey of current practising clinics revealed at least five services had closed down within the past year.

With wait times to see a GP exceeding two weeks at some Cairns practices, and beyond four weeks in rural areas, it’s left already overworked clinics fielding numerous inquiries from patients seeking a new doctor.

At the Toogood Road Family Medical Centre, admin staff have reported the majority of early morning callers are new patients seeking an appointment and a new doctor. It comes as nearby SmartClinics Woree Family Medical Centre is listed as temporarily closed.

And in the city, practices are feeling the effects of the one of Cairns’ larger clinics closing down – Central Plaza Doctors.

At the Cairns Central Medical centre it had been “hit and miss” in terms of taking on new patients while practice manager Mark Dellow at Cairns GP Medical Centre on Sheridan St had also received a number of new patient records.

“That’s been a real hit,” Mr Dellow said.

“We’ve had people bring their records over so we’ve had to take on those patients as well as those we already have.

“We’re booked about a week in advance, it used to be one or two days. We have to juggle things around to look after our regular patients and whatever we can do after that, we’ll try and do.”

Senior doctor overwork Tired and sleeping

Mr Dellow said with five doctors including a locum, he was about three GPs short.

“The demand is ridiculous.

“Cairns being Cairns, there’s a lot of travellers. So there might be someone from Brisbane who wants to get a quick script but they can’t.

“It’s a bit embarrassing really that they can’t see a doctor.

“We’re also getting a lot of patients from the Tablelands and Cassowary Coast because they can’t see doctors there.”

Mr Dellow said a federal zoning arrangement meant Cairns was not considered a “district of workforce shortage”, and this was preventing doctors who had not completed their 10-year moratorium, from moving to the region.

On Thursday the geographical classification system is set to be included in a Senate hearing putting the spotlight on regional GP shortages.

Northern Queensland Primary Health Network chief executive Robin Whyte said she was aware of at least five general practices that had closed in the past 12 months.

“An increasing number of rural practices are closing due to an inability to recruit new GPs.

“There are 14 persistent GP vacancies in the south of our catchment that cannot be filled.” 

LIST OF CLOSED MEDICAL SERVICES:

– Central Plaza Doctors

– SmartClinics Woree Family Medical Centre (temporarily closed)

– Northcare Physio and Psychology

– Dial-A-Doctor Cairns

– FNQH Innisfail Medical and Skin Cancer Centre

Originally published as List of Cairns medical centres which have closed down