Heatley Medical and Skin Care Centre to offer much-need niche medical services

An new medical centre will offer a range of niche services to help Townsville’s neglected patients and take the pressure off hospital waiting lists.

Married couple Dr Archana Somani and Dr Prakash Pattnaik outside their new Heatley practice opening soon. Picture: Evan Morgan

A newly constructed $3m GP clinic offering a range of niche services will play a vital role in reducing the pressure on hospital waitlists and the need to travel for medical procedures.

Situated at the site of a former child care centre on Tyler St, the Heatley Medical and Skin Care Centre will be officially opened on January 23.

The facility realises the ambitious vision of a husband and wife team – GP obstetrician Dr Prakash Pattnaik and GP paediatrician Dr Archana Somani – who have worked in Townsville for the past 12 years.

“We wanted to create a bit of a niche in that suburb area … a combination of everything in one stop, like skin cosmetics and general GP care,” Dr Pattnaik said.

Married couple Dr Archana Somani and Dr Prakash Pattnaik outside their new Heatley practice opening soon. Picture: Evan Morgan

Employing three receptionists, three nurses, and up to seven doctors, the facility will feature six clinic rooms, three treatment beds, linked by mariner lifts to an upper level with standard consultations rooms, dedicated procedure and cosmetic rooms, and a theatre.

Dr Pattnaik said they would provide all standard GP supported care and geriatrics, as well as specialised skin cancer care and specially designated surgical operating rooms.

“We are planning to have 2D body photography for skin cancers … to map all of the moles on your skin and body with artificial intelligence and give the doctor educated and intelligent tips on which ones are the most sinister,” he said.

In the future, Dr Pattanaik intended to diversify their offering to include much-needed reproductive services that were either unavailable, or had a limited availability in the city.

They would include medical and surgical terminations, vasectomies, and circumcisions.

“We’re looking to help subsections of people in the community who probably have been neglected by the government, or people don’t want to talk about it and want to keep it under wraps,” he said.

It would fill the void left by family planning organisation Marie Stopes Australia’s Townsville clinic closure in 2021, forcing women to travel hundreds of kilometres to access abortion services.

“Everyone who has to have that, has to take time off work, time off family, travel, hotel, flight charges, cost of termination, it becomes a huge issue,” he said.

Residents at the neighbouring 125 unit St James Retirement Village were excited by the prospect of having a medical facility located across the road, with planning underway to create a specialised paved path for access.

“They find it hard to travel, take taxis, Uber … so I think it’ll be a good handy service for those people,” he said.

Originally published as Heatley Medical and Skin Care Centre to offer much-need niche medical services