ForHealth purchases Mandalay Medical Centre Rockhampton

Rockhampton’s only bulk-billing clinic that announced it would be closing could have a new lifeline after a state and federal government intervention. FULL STORY

Mandalay Medical Centre is Rockhampton's only solely bulk billing centre.

Mandalay Medical Centre will remain open after the federal and state government intervened to keep the city’s only bulk-billing doctors open.

The practice underneath shopping centre Stockland, announced on October 20 it would be closing on December 1.

The announcement, which has since been removed from Facebook, caused outcry from hundreds of patients and the public, as they feared they would not be able to get into other doctors which would put more pressure on the emergency department at the public hospital.

State member for Keppel Brittany Lauga pushed to have state health minister Shannon Fentiman involved along with Federal Health Minister Mark Butler and federal member for Capricornia Michelle Landry.

Director-General Michael Walsh travelled to Rockhampton on October 27 to host a meeting with doctors.

Health services provider ForHealth announced it had bought Mandalay Medical Centre.

Primary health network for Central Queensland, Country to Coast QLD, Chief Executive Julie Sturgess said she was delighted residents will have access affordable and personalised healthcare.

Country to Coast, QLD Senior Manager Central Queensland, Samantha King, Practice Manager, Deb Lacey and Nurse Manager Gyanu Maya excited about the ForHealth acquisition of Mandalay Medical Centre in Rockhampton.

“I can understand that the Rockhampton community would have been concerned to hear last month that Mandalay Medical Centre intended to close from 1 December,” she said.

“Following the announcement of the pending closure, however, Country to Coast staff worked closely with Mandalay Medical Centre management to allay community concerns, including answering phone inquiries from Mandalay patients, providing employee assistance program support to Mandalay team members, and working with Health Workforce Queensland on a workforce management plan.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said she was proud the government was able to step in and keep the doors open.

“We understood the impact closing this facility would have on residents and the flow on affect to other healthcare services, who are already under pressure,” she said.

“I am committed to ensuring that every Queenslander has access to high-quality healthcare no matter where they live, and the Rockhampton community can have confidence that bulk-billed care will continue to be available locally.”

ForHealth Medical Centre has 80 medical centres across the country with 1300 independent health practitioners on their books.

ForHealth Chief Executive Andrew Cohen welcomed Mandalay Medical Centre and the Rockhampton community to ForHealth’s existing network of more than 80 medical centres across Australia.

“ForHealth passionately believes every Australian has the right to high quality accessible healthcare, wherever they are, and no matter their financial circumstances,” ForHealth Chief Executive Andrew Cohen said.

“ForHealth is committed to retaining and building the existing Mandalay Medical Centre workforce, continuing to bulk-bill and expanding health services provided to the Rockhampton community.”

Mandalay Medical Centre was founded by Dr Daryl Ba Pe in 1994.

Originally published as ForHealth purchases Mandalay Medical Centre Rockhampton