Campbelltown Hospital will no longer offer after-hours GP services on site
AFTER-HOURS GP clinics at Campbelltown Hospital will be shut down early next year.
Macarthur
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SOUTH Western Sydney Primary Health Network chief executive Keith McDonald has defended a decision to shut after an hours GP clinic at Campbelltown Hospital from January 28 next year.
Mr McDonald said the decision was triggered by a hospital review of spaces at the facility as part of its redevelopment which is underway.
“We can’t have a space at the hospital any more and had to come up with alternatives,’’ he said.
An after hours GP clinic at Liverpool Hospital will also cease on December 31.
Mr McDonald there were a range of 10 GP surgeries which operated with extended hours within a 5km radius of Campbelltown Hospital that people could access and come February, more surgeries would extend their hours.
These surgeries can be found through the National Health Service Directory app.
He said three after hours home visit services and the GP helpline were also available for people who needed after hours care.
It is believed the after hours GP services will cease for a short period of time before they are relocated to several private surgeries.
Macarthur federal Labor MP Dr Michael Freelander said he was dismayed by the news and was angry at a lack of community consultation before a decision was made.
“I’ve been told that this has been done to make space at Campbelltown Hospital,” he said.
“It’s shocking, it means people have to go straight to an emergency department or to a private GP after hours.
“It’s been done without any community consultation.”
The popular service used a rotating roster of GPs and was available to patients seven days a week.
Australian Medical Association NSW president Professor Brad Frankum said the closure of after hours GP clinics would place more pressure on emergency departments.
Prof Frankum said Bureau of Health Information statistics between July and September showed record numbers of patients walking into emergency departments across NSW.
“Emergency departments in South West Sydney at Campbelltown and Liverpool saw a significant increase,” he said.
“We’re already seeing problems with the excessive increase in emergency departments and that may go further because people can’t get to a GP.
“The reaility is that Medicare doen’t fund GPs well enough for them to remain open after hours.”
Campbelltown state Labor MP Greg Warren said the pressure on emergency departments was already at breaking point and said he would forward an urgent message to NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard this afternoon asking to explore ways to reincorporate the service.
“Our emergency departments are already under the pump, it’s not good enough that these services are cut,” he said.
“We have a hospital service that has four hour waiting times in the emergency department and this will add to that pressure.”