Mount Gambier Urgent Care Clinic: Paion Medical owes $5m in unpaid wages and debts

A struggling medical clinic in the SA’s South-East has closed effective immediately, but it can be revealed how much its operator owes staff and creditors.

Paion Medical owner Richard Try at the Mount Gambier Urgent Care Clinic which has now closed effective immediately. Picture: Facebook

Staff at three medical clinics in Mount Gambier are owed more than $1.2m in unpaid wages and superannuation after the collapse of a local service provider.

The Advertiser can reveal Paion Medical operators of the Mount Gambier Urgent Care Clinic, Family Health, and Skin Cancer Clinic, which went into liquidation in January, owes creditors a total $5.3m.

Across the three clinics, 22 listed employees are owed part of $1,266,155 in unpaid superannuation and entitlements, and wages, with the Australian Taxation Office also owed part of the sum.

Paion Medical director Richard Try. Picture: Facebook

Additionally, Paion Medical owed 42 unsecured creditors a total of $4,150,874.

A secured creditor has a security interest, like a mortgage or loan, over some or all of a company’s assets, while an unsecured creditor does not.

Despite Paion Medical going into liquidation on January 29, director and Mount Gambier GP Richard Try worked with liquidators SV Partners, and Country SA Primary Health Network to continue the delivery of services.

On Tuesday, the Mount Gambier Urgent Care Clinic was closed effective immediately – staff shortages believed to have played a role in its closure following months of impromptu temporary closures that often lasted between one day and one week due to a lack of staff.

The urgent care clinic was the only one of its kind in Mount Gambier, serving a crucial component to the community’s health services.

Mount Gambier Urgent Care Clinic announced its immediate closure on Tuesday evening. Picture: Mt Gambier Urgent Care Clinic Facebook

The purpose of an urgent care clinic is to provide free, immediate, treatment and care for patients that are experiencing non-life-threatening injuries or illnesses, alleviating pressures in hospital emergency departments.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Country SA PHN said it was “disappointed” the liquidators were unable to secure an alternative service provider and would now be seeking a new operator for the clinic to ensure “ongoing urgent care for the community”.

“Country SA PHN is confident that a suitable provider will be secured as quickly as possible to give certainty to the local community that there will be a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic they can attend to receive urgent care,” the statement said.

A spokesman from the Federal Department of Health, Disability and Ageing said it was committed to working closely with the Country SA PHN to re-establish urgent care services for the community as soon as possible.

“The EOI process to commission a new (Urgent Care Clinic) provider is expected to commence this week,” the spokesman said.

In February, a spokesman for the Mount Gambier and Districts Residents and Ratepayers Association (MGDRRA) said the Urgent Care Clinic, which has serviced more than 8000 patients since opening in 2023, was a “much needed service” for the town.

Mount Gambier does have a hospital for urgent life-threatening care only seven minutes drive from the clinic.

The liquidator and Dr Try has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Mount Gambier Urgent Care Clinic: Paion Medical owes $5m in unpaid wages and debts