Hervey Bay doctors launch open letter to MPs over urgent care clinic

Local doctors have voiced their confusion at what they describe as a “perplexing” decision regarding the management of a new urgent care clinic in Hervey Bay.

The Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, 5/166 Boat Harbour Dr, was opened on December 11, 2024 by Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

Local practitioners, psychologists and clinics have come together to voice their discontent with the new Hervey Bay Urgent Care Clinic, after a corporate body outside of the Wide Bay was chosen to run it.

An open letter sent to the chief executive of Wide Bay’s Primary Health Network (PHN), state MP David Lee, federal MP Keith Pitt, and the national office of the Department of Health and Aged Care details the disappointment local health professionals have felt with the PHN and its “lack of support for local providers”.

The letter details steps the signees believe need to be taken in order for a more concise collaboration between the PHN and local practices, including transparent breakdowns of funds when they are allocated, and a commitment to engagement with local providers.

Dr Chris Woollard of Hervey Bay Doctors tendered the letter and gained signatures from nine separate stakeholders in the region.

“There was a local practice that applied for the clinic and didn’t get it,” Dr Woollard said.

General practitioners, being mostly funded by Medicare, are meant to fill financial gaps with incentives from the PHN such as nominating their practice for an Urgent Care Clinic.

Dr Chris Woollard has written an open letter to government sectors and local members after the licence for the Hervey Bay Urgent Care Clinic was awarded to a corporation outside of the Fraser Coast

When Dr Woollard found out the clinic was to be run by a large corporation with no practices in the region, he was “perplexed” as to why a local practice was not chosen.

“When you look at the criteria, it’s hard to understand how a practice that didn’t exist yet met the criteria,” he said.

“The choice of location is unusual as there is no clear access to a pharmacy, pathology or radiology.”

Eli Waters Medical Centre applied for the clinic, with the practice sitting close to a pathology centre, a pharmacy, and having ample access for wheelchairs, but was not chosen for the licence.

The clinic was opened in early December last year on Boat Harbour Dr and is run by ForHealth, a national organisation that also runs services for dental care, women’s health, and travel vaccinations.

Keeping continuity with local practitioners and not going straight to a clinic such as this one remains a concern for Dr Woollard, especially in areas where the population is aging.

“A regular GP is really critical,” he said.

“You’ve got to be so careful to not fragment care from a usual GP and that regular long-term relationship.

“A new practice has a lot of setup costs and will fragment the workforce, so they then take doctors and nurses from elsewhere.

“There’s already a shortage of medical administrators, nurses, and doctors in regional areas, so creating a new service which needs new staff means it would have been nicer to see that support used locally.”

The clinic sits in a space with ample car parks and access for wheelchair users, but other existing GP's would have made for a more sensible fit as they are located around other medical institutions like pharmacies and pathology centres, argues Dr Woollard.

Julie Sturgess, chief executive of the local PHN Country to Coast, said in a media release that participation by local practices was “encouraged” but “the final decision is based on the provider’s ability to meet the required service model criteria and departmental program guidance documents”.

“Proposals are rigorously assessed against service model requirements and quality standards to guarantee that patients will receive timely, urgent care services,” she said.

The release also details how the PHN supports local practices, including strengthening Medicare grants worth $25,000-$50,000 to 256 local general practices to enhance digital health capability, and upgrading infection prevention and control arrangements.

While Dr Woollard and his associates are disappointed at recent actions, he reiterated how the steps he had taken were for greater healthcare in the region.

“I want to build things,” Dr Woollard said.

“This money could’ve been spent more efficiently with existing practices and to bolster what’s already being done in our workforce.

“We have very capable, very high functioning practices that already exist in the area.”