New doctors join Yorketown Medical Practice

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Country North SA Medicare Local say two new doctors have been recruited for the Yorketown Medical Practice on Yorke Peninsula.

Earlier this year, the organisation took the unprecedented step of taking ownership of the practice when the previous GP announced his retirement.

Dr Sudantha Silva has joined the practice from Port Macquarie Hospital in New South Wales, while Dr Leon Gonzalez has come from South Africa.

Medicare Local chief executive Kim Hosking says they will work at the practice and in the Yorketown Hospital.

“They’ve originally come from overseas. They were trained in universities overseas,” he said.

“They’ve been in Australia for some time and done their necessary training to ensure that they meet the Australian standards and with the help of the Rural Doctors Workforce Agency we’ve been able to recruit them.”

He says it is becoming increasingly difficult to get doctors to move to regional areas and some now job share.

“We’ve become very reliant on obtaining general practitioners who have originated their training overseas, and then reskilled in Australia and moved in to practice,” he said.

“Some GPs have gone into part-time work to fill the gap and in some places, sort of adventurous models have had to be achieved.”