GPs struggle to staff Angaston District Hospital’s emergency department forcing closure 15 times in 2025

Regional doctors facing burnout warn lives are at risk, with one hospital north east of Adelaide repeatedly closing its ED, leaving nurses to manage without medical support.

Dr Jennifer Glaetzer says the Angaston Hospital ED closures posed more serious risks than ambulance diversions with critically ill patients still able to arrive at the ED by car. Picture: Emma Brasier

The healthcare system is collapsing in real time northeast of Adelaide, where a regional hospital’s emergency department has been forced to close multiple times this year, leaving patients playing Russian roulette with their lives.

The Angaston District Hospital’s emergency department has “diverted patients” to Gawler Hospital – around 30 minutes away – 15 times this year and a further eight times in 2024.

SA Health confirmed the closures saying it was due to a shortage of local GPs being able to cover the roster.

Patients were informed of the closures via social media posts, with each of the posts subsequently deleted once the ED reopened.

The Angaston District Hospital’s emergency department has “diverted patients” to Gawler Hospital, around 30 minutes away, 15 times this year and a further 8 times in 2024. Picture: Facebook

Patients were informed of the closures via social media posts, with each of the posts subsequently deleted once the ED reopened. Picture: Facebook

Dr Jennifer Glaetzer, the local GP and anaesthetist whose medical centre is contracted to staff the Angaston ED, warned the crisis posed more serious risks than ambulance diversions — with critically ill patients still able to arrive at the ED by car.

It means nursing staff are being left to potentially handle critical cases beyond the scope of their duties.

“There’s been a lot of discussion about what we can do to support the nurses in those circumstances,” she said.

“There’s been some upskilling of our nurses, but at the end of the day, they are not doctors, so they are not equipped to be able to provide the care that potentially some of these patients may need.

“They’re working absolute top of scope potentially and even outside of their scope, perhaps, if the situation required it.

Dr Glaetzer said maintaining a 24/7 on-call roster had become impossible under the weight of longstanding problems attracting GPs into regional clinics, mounting administrative burdens and financial pressures — a toxic combination that’s left doctors burnt-out and practices unable to meet demands even in relatively close regional areas like Angaston.

Adding to the strain, some GPs are no longer working full-time, dividing their work between general practice and other areas of medical interest.

“The patients that we see up at the Angaston Hospital are older, they are sicker, they’re comorbid, so the type of work is becoming more difficult,” Dr Glaetzer said.

“Being able to recover from [overnight on call shifts] is not quite as easy as perhaps it has been in the past.

SA Health now staffs doctors at the Angaston ED Tuesday through Thursday using locums. Picture: Supplied

“We’ve got to a point where we were seeing a few signs of burnout from our doctors … they were starting to become a bit more vocal about their wellbeing and we had to do something fairly drastic to address it.”

SA Health now staffs doctors at the Angaston ED Tuesday through Thursday using locums.

Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network acting chief executive Kylie Williams acknowledged the workforce stress faced by the Angaston GPs, saying a national GP shortage had placed pressure on local doctors to cover EDs across all regional hospitals.

He said the health network tries to give residents ample notice of the closures and uses a number of platforms to communicate.

“Any decision to divert services for a short period is made on a case-by-case basis and we assess all options to ensure patients continue receiving the highest quality care possible,” he said.

But opposition spokesperson for Health Ashton Hurn said the closures showed a double standard in regional versus metropolitan healthcare.

“Any reduction in service, particularly in regional areas like Angaston, is deeply concerning – especially at a time when our health system is already under such pressure,” she said.

“When there are repeated closures, it understandably creates enormous angst and uncertainty, and that’s exactly what I’m hearing from locals – not only in Angaston, but across the Barossa more broadly.

Acknowledging the workforce challenges, Ms Hurn said the government was failing to tackle the issue – with the Liberals calling for stronger incentives to be put on the table to attract more GPs into the regions.

“If the government doesn’t act, I worry we’ll see a gradual deterioration of healthcare services across regional communities – something we simply cannot allow to happen,” she said.

Minister for Health and Wellbeing Chris Picton reiterated SA Health had been contracting doctors to cover shifts local GPs were no longer able to cover.

The health service was also installing “the South Australian Virtual Emergency Service (SAVES) system – which supports rural emergency departments – to help cover overnight shifts.

“Angaston Hospital sees 10 people arrive in each 24-hour-period and is 15 minutes drive from Tanunda Hospital,” he said.

“Unlike the former Liberal Government, which permanently closed the Gumeracha and Strathalbyn Hospital Emergency Departments, we are keeping the Angaston Hospital ED open.”

Originally published as GPs struggle to staff Angaston District Hospital’s emergency department forcing closure 15 times in 2025