GPs voice concerns over patients paying to access public healthcare at Northern Beaches Hospital

A number of General Practioners say accessing free public clinics at Northern Beaches Hospital is leaving patients hundreds if not thousands of dollars out of pocket.

Exterior of Northern Beaches Hospital in Frenchs Forest. Picture: Julie Cross.

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Patients are being forced to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars to gain access to public healthcare at the new Northern Beaches Hospital which was previously free.

A number of GPs have come forward to say they believe patients are getting a poorer service at NBH.

Their concerns include:

•Patients forced to pay private specialists to access some public outpatient clinics;

•The loss of public cardiology and neurology outpatient clinics GPs can refer to;

•Reports that the public paediatrics clinic is already at capacity.

Dr Caroline Rogers from Osana Narrabeen GP surgery said NBH was costing her public patients money.

Dr Caroline Rogers. Picture: Julian Andrews.

“Patients are often thousands of dollars out of pocket with gap fees for pathology and private specialists,” she said. “Previously it would have all been free.”

Another GP, Dr Vecerka Skovrlj from Warringah Medical and Dental Centre, said her patients had returned from NBH after being encouraged to use their private health insurance for things like blood tests to find out later they had to pay a gap.

Exterior of Northern Beaches Hospital in Frenchs Forest. Picture: Julie Cross.

GPs also said they were concerned at the loss of public outpatient cardiology and neurology clinics that used to operate out of Manly or Mona Vale hospitals.

Dr Rogers said if someone needed heart tests, or if she suspected a patient had Parkinson’s GPs could refer directly.

Avalon GP Dr Stephen Ginsborg said “it certainly seemed to be the case” that there was less access to public clinics at NBH.

Dr Stephen Ginsborg. Picture: Adam Yip.

Dr Skovrlj said she and many of her 20 plus colleagues at her surgery felt the same.

She added she was now referring to Royal North Shore Hospital but the waiting lists are long and patients are often refused appointments as they are “out of area”.

Furthermore, at a meeting of GPs and Northern Beaches Hospital bosses last month, Dr Rogers said they were told the public paediatric outpatients clinical was near capacity.

She said the overwhelming message was that there was plenty of capacity for private patients.

“In terms of public care available, I don’t think it’s sufficient for our population,” she said.

“Everything they were saying was about how much private capacity they had and how they were expanding services for private patients.”

A Healthscope spokesman said there was a greater level of public services than was previously offered and GPs can directly refer public patients to paediatrics, antenatal, gynaecology and rheumatology clinics.

In addition the hospital accepts public patients discharged from the ward or by referral via the Emergency Department to clinics including neurology, stroke, fracture, respiratory and Ear Nose and Throat.

The spokesman said NBH is meeting its contractual obligation to provide a cardiology service. There is also an inpatient cardiology clinic for public patients and the spokesman said some specialists offered bulk billing via GP referral.

Dr Rogers said having specialists who are willing, on occasion, when specifically requested to bulk bill patients, is no substitute for a publicly funded clinic.

Another GP who did not want to be named said she was resentful at having to ask specialists to bulk bill patients she thought could not afford to pay.