Help is on the way: New practice almost open

'There are so many little towns like just screaming out for a doctor. We're one of many.'

Another doctor is needed at the town's new medical practice. Picture: Contributed

CLERMONT'S luck has not run out yet, but the search for more doctors for the small town is proving tougher than first expected.

While the Mackay Hospital and Health District continues to search for permanent doctors for the Clermont Hospital and clinic, Dr Sarah McLay is still searching for a doctor to join her practice which opens in early September.

Dr McLay said she fell in fell in love with the town and the community when she began to practice there, and she hoped more doctors would too.

With her new venture, Clermont Country Practice, opening on September 2, the health outlook for the community is looking up.

But unless more doctors arrive in the town, Dr McLay will only make a dent in the needs of the community.

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Originally planning to open in August, Dr McLay said she'd had to delay the opening of the practice to make sure everything was ready.

"The doctor crisis has really hit home for the community for the time I've been on maternity leave," she said. "I can't go anywhere without being asked what's happening.

"I think the only thing that is a concern for me is getting another doctor to help out, a lot of the community have asked me about that, and as of yet, we have some ads, but we haven't sourced another doctor.

"It feels like those ads are a needle in a haystack. There are so many little towns like just screaming out for a doctor. We're one of many.

"(We are) trying to work out how we can stand out."

To help address the high demand for doctors, Dr McLay has organised an express clinic.

"For two hours a day there will be eight to 10 appointments, they will be book on the day appointments," she said.

"It creates an opportunity for access ... if I didn't create that it would usually be three weeks wait for an appointment."

Dr McLay said she hoped having more doctors at the practice, could help the doctors at the hospital when they were away.

"I think one of the biggest issues Queensland Health faces, the reality of working in those jobs is it is intense," she said.

"A lot of the time, in these little towns, those doctors are often the only doctor in town. Having myself and other doctors with me, we would be able to support that person if they need a weekend off or they need to get away."

The practice will open for a period in the old Blair Athol building in Clermont, before it moves to its long-term site.

Right now, Dr McLay is in the process of training staff, which includes a full-time nurse.

You should be able to book in the week before the clinic opens.

Originally published as Help is on the way: New practice almost open