Private GPs at Victor Harbor south of Adelaide say they are disappointed with plans by the South Australian Government to “cut ties” with local doctors and implement a new 24-hour medical service without them.
A new model will be implemented at the South Coast District Hospital from March that will ensure doctors are on site 24 hours a day.
Currently general practitioners are called to the hospital from private clinics along the coast when acute or emergency care is required, and a locum remains on site overnight.
Victor Medical Centre spokesperson Doctor Graham Wildman said the arrangement had provided Country Health SA with reliable 24-hour coverage for the past 18 months to two years.
He said the years of experience and continuity of service provided by using local GPs would be lost if the arrangement ends.
“We are able to provide, as general practitioners do, care from the cradle to the grave and our concern is that the model they’re proposing will be staffed by medical officers that may not have that same breadth of experience,” Dr Wildman said.
But Country Health SA chief executive Maree Geraghty said the change was needed due to an increasing population of residents and tourists in the area.
She said it would ensure patients could see a doctor at any time of day or night.
“I think the community will be really pleased to have doctors at the hospital 24-7,” she said.
“The south coast is a growing area, and as areas continue to grow and communities needs get greater, we need to really look at better and more improved services to provide.”
Staffing resources questioned
Doctor Wildman also questioned staffing resources at the hospital in the event of a major incident.
“If suddenly you need to have eight doctors or more for a major trauma, doctors from various clinics on the coast will attend, and doctors who live in town but may be on their day off can also be called in,” he said.
“If we’re dealing with resident staff, where some of them may well live in Adelaide, what happens when suddenly you need to six to eight doctors and you may only have three to four?
“The numbers they’re going to have on site are going to be restricted.”
Ms Geraghty said Country Health SA was working “very closely” with GPs in the region to see if they were interested in continuing to work with the hospital, whether on a part-time or full-time basis.