Risdon Vale pharmacist Katie Hayes says Labor’s GP clinic will ease residents’ disadvantage
Getting to visit the GP is often difficult but for some eastern shore residents it can involve a three hour round-trip. Labor plans to make it easier for people at Risdon Vale.
Tasmania
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Risdon Vale pharmacist Katie Hayes says some local residents make a three hour trip to visit the doctor and a new, free bulk-billed GP clinic promised by Labor will make health care more accessible.
The suburb’s GP clinic has been closed for more than 12 months and Ms Hayes said some people were travelling to Bridgewater, Rosny and Lindisfarne to see a doctor, co-ordinating their visits with the bus timetable.
“It’s an area that already experiences disadvantage in terms of accessibility to health care, such as transport, and transport has become exceedingly difficult,” she said.
“Accessibility has been a very big challenge, and we spend a lot of our time in the pharmacy trying to direct people to where they can access care, and it’s often not in a timely manner.
“They definitely have avoided going to the doctor.
“It can be a three hour bus trip for some people and that’s not feasible for everybody.”
Labor leader Dean Winter said the Risdon Vale facility was already owned by the Health Department and set up with consulting rooms.
“This is a location that’s been so badly let down, a community that’s been let down with their local doctor leaving more than a year ago and nothing being done by the Liberals to resurrect it,” he said.
“By not going to see a doctor in the first instance, people are getting sicker and they end up in emergency departments. We want to stop that.”
The clinic is one of five TassieDocs announced by Labor that will have extended evening and weekend hours and both face-to-face and telehealth appointments.
Mr Winter said a Tasmanian family could save around $650 a year on GP visits easing the cost of living as well as easier access to healthcare.
Franklin Labor MP Meg Brown said she was constantly hearing from the community that health care was there number one priority.
“This clinic is something that is desperately needed for the people of Risdon Vale,” she said.
“Katie does a fantastic job here at the chemist but they need to be getting access to GPs regularly.”
Health Minister Jacquie Petrusma accused Labor of “pork barrelling” to shore up votes in Labor areas.
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Originally published as Risdon Vale pharmacist Katie Hayes says Labor’s GP clinic will ease residents’ disadvantage
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