Troubled GP clinic chain Tristar Medical goes under administration

Bulk billed services in some regional towns could be at risk after the GP clinic chain giant failed to pay back its six-figure debts.

One of Victoria’s largest GP clinic chains was placed into administration last week, owing more than $200,000 in payments to one landlord.

Tristar Medical Group, which runs 29 GP clinics in Victoria and NSW, was placed under administrator McGrathNicol Restructuring on May 24.

Tristar Medical Group has been placed under administration. Picture: Jessica Ball

The company, which operates in Albury, Ararat, Ballarat, Geelong, Horsham, Mildura and Wodonga, is the only bulk-billing GP clinic in some regional towns.

McGrathNicol Restructuring partner Matthew Caddy told The Weekly Times the administrators intended to keep Tristar’s medical clinics operating while it searched for a buyer for the

the troubled company.

“We are running a process to either sell or recapitalise the group. We will invite offers around a process to sell the group as a whole,” he said.

It would be up to the purchaser whether they continued to operate GP services on a bulk-billed basis, he said.

Tristar Medical employed 225 staff as of last week, plus 60 GPs. Mr Caddy said staff would be paid as normal while the company was under administration.

As of Monday, Mr Caddy said he was aware of one landlord owed about $200,000 by Tristar, and potential debts to taxation authorities.

A meeting of creditors is due to take place on Friday.

Rural Doctors Association president Megan Belot said Tristar’s collapse provided a lesson both for the health sector and government.

Tristar focused on bulk billing, which was “not sustainable”, she said.

To subsidise the lower income it received from bulk billed patients, the company relied on lower-paid overseas-trained doctors, and fast, 10-minute turnaround times for patients.

The company also did not provide its doctors with formal supervision and training, she said.

“At my clinic, I treat three patients an hour. Doctors at Tristar treat six to eight patients an hour. I don’t know how they did it,” she said.

“It is not a business model we support.”

Dr Belot said the company’s collapse highlighted the need for reform of healthcare funding.

“It is hard to have your business break even if you are only bulk billing,” Dr Belot said.

“We really need to look at how primary healthcare is funded,” she said.

Dr Belot said she hoped any prospective buyers of the business looked at changing Tristar’s business model.

“You need a model where you are training the next generation, and you need to pay your staff appropriately,” she said.

“That may mean they will need to look at mixed billing.”