GP shortage hits aged care as doctors 'run out of time and energy'

Residents have spoken of their shock to discover their doctors are no longer working or difficulty in trying to register at an alternative practice. But now the shortage is creating further issues in the community.

ACM has been told that the GP practice servicing two local aged care homes will no longer be able to do so.

Steve Nimmo who with his wife Dr Angela Nimmo, owns Tura Beach Medical Centre, said the shortage of GPs meant they were "withdrawing their services from nursing homes".

The practice services RSL LifeCare's Hugh Cunningham Gardens, Tura Beach and Albert Moore Gardens, Merimbula.

"We have run out of time and energy," Mr Nimmo said.

He said they used to do two and a half days a week but had cut that back to one day a week. However after August 31 they would no longer be able to provide the service.

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Experienced GP at the practice, Dr Barry Stevens, will be retiring soon and finding replacement GPs is almost impossible in rural areas. The practice has relied on getting overseas trained doctors (OTDs) who complete their studies under supervision from Dr Nimmo but even this well has dried up.

This system requires overseas OTDs who wish to live and practise medicine in Australia to spend some time caring for patients in an area of need. But the definition of an area of need has changed under the Labor Government to include large regional centres and extensions of major cities.

Dr Megan Belot, President of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) said is had made rural areas less attractive with reports of OTDs being head hunted for city practices.

"As quickly as it was announced, city medical practices started targeting doctors in rural areas to move to cities including Canberra, Hobart, Sunshine Coast and Wollongong," Dr Belot said.

Mr Nimmo said the practice has no OTDs in the current term and was not expecting to get any in the next term given there were 23 applicants for 48 rural positions in NSW.

He said he had spoken to other doctors about the possibility of them taking over the nursing home work but has been told many are too busy.

ACM has contacted RSL LifeCare for a comment.

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