Permanent general practice announced for St Marys but concerns raised over locum reliance

The struggling health service of a rural Tasmanian township has been thrown a lifeline, but there are lingering concerns over access to health services. Will it fix the problem?

RACGP Tas chair Dr Tim Jackson at his practice in the Shoreline Plaza. Picture: Richard Jupe

A permanent general practice will be established at St Marys after the rural township was left without a doctor when the local GP resigned in August.

And while the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has welcomed the news, it has warned that the GP “crisis” in Tasmania will continue without further intervention from the federal and state governments.

Health Minister Guy Barnett announced on Friday that Ochre Health would begin operating a private general practice at St Marys, on the state’s East Coast, later this month, following the resignation of Dr Cyril Latt.

“This is an excellent outcome for the St Marys community,” he said.

Ochre Health’s Dr Ross Lamplugh, Health Minister Guy Barnett and Break O'Day Mayor Mick Tucker at St Marys. Picture: Supplied

“While primary healthcare is the responsibility of the federal government, the Rockliff Liberal government has again stepped in to support Tasmanians, ensuring the St Marys community has access to the healthcare services it needs.”

The announcement comes after an agreement was reached with Ochre Health to provide medical services at the state-run St Marys Community Health Centre.

Ochre Health co-founder and chairman, Dr Ross Lamplugh, said the organisation was “looking forward to establishing a practice in St Marys to provide this vital service to the local community”.

St Marys' long-serving GP Dr Cyril Latt with federal Lyons MP Brian Mitchell. Picture: Facebook

“We recognise the importance of access to primary care services, particularly in rural and regional areas, and we are pleased that we can play such an important role in supporting the health and wellbeing of the people of St Marys and surrounding areas,” he said.

Lyons Labor MP Jen Butler said the St Marys community would “still be at risk” of not having access to a permanent GP because the Ochre Health service would be “based on a locum doctor being available”.

“If a locum doctor is not available, then the community and those in surrounding areas will need to travel elsewhere to access vital services, putting more pressure on Tasmania’s hospital system,” she said.

RACGP Tasmania chair Tim Jackson said Ochre Health’s announcement was an “excellent outcome” for the local community but added that the state needed to reduce its reliance on locum doctors and encourage more young medicos to do part of their training in general practice.

Jen Butler Labor member for Lyons. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

“After 30 years of Medicare, it’s not really fit-for-purpose anymore,” Dr Jackson said. “We need to really have a sit-down altogether and come up with a better alternative.”

“Particularly these days when our population’s age is increasing and chronic disease is increasing so the pretext that Medicare was developed [under] is no longer applicable to current practice.

“I think crisis is a word we probably throw around too much but I don’t think it can be understated at the moment [here].”

Break O’Day Mayor Mick Tucker said the continuity of service at St Marys was “incredibly good news” for the entire region.

“Now we’ve got to give [Ochre Health] a little bit of patience, allow things to move in and settle in and I think we’re all going to be very, very relieved that we’ve got a professional organisation in our community delivering good health outcomes for our community,” he said.

Originally published as Permanent general practice announced for St Marys but concerns raised over locum reliance