Tailem Bend medical centre will close – again
But the director of the GP clinic at Tailem Bend has defended its decision to cease operations.
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The director of a Tailem Bend medical centre has responded to an Advertiser article earlier this week that he claims misrepresented him.
Dr Sanjeev Sabharwal, director of the Murraylands Medical Centre in Tailem Bend, is keen to set the record straight in regard to why the clinic will cease operations on October 14.
The Advertiser article from July 19 focused on a battle between clinic operators and the state government, who waived a debt for over $100,000 so that the clinic could continue servicing the people of Tailem Bend and surrounding areas.
One of the claims in the article was that on June 29 this year, clinic operators agreed to a new lease agreement for $8000 a year, and that "The deal, which included an agreement to stay in the Murraylands region, was settled a day before the closure notice as the clinic repaid $50,000 to SA Health".
However, Dr Sanjeev strongly denied this timeline and that he intended to keep running the clinic in Tailem Bend.
"That’s absolutely false," Dr Sanjeev said.
"So there were two different things: one is the deed to keep the previous rent, which we did, because it was our obligation to clear the previous debt and we cleared that'.
Dr Sanjeev added, "We paid the amount of fifty thousand and after paying, we gave them [the government] a notice".
"We didn’t have to give them notice because there is no lease existing; there is no agreement existing."
Dr Sanjeev spoke of how the clinic has been struggling for the last four or five years, and his description of why it’s been a struggle make it difficult to believe he would want to take out another lease for the Murraylands Medical Centre to continue.
"It’s very hard to retain the doctors in this area," Dr Sanjeev said. "We have employed 20 doctors in the last eight years, and most of them run away to Victoria and New South Wales.
"As soon as they complete their fellowship, they go away. So, it’s a huge loss".
"To engage one doctor, we have to spend $20,000 to $30,000 on each employment."
Dr Sanjeev said that the government hasn’t provided enough support to retain doctors in Tailem Bend.
"I’m sorry to say they were never, never supported," he said. "And that’s why we had such a bad situation in Tailem Bend over the years.
"The problem is, it’s a small population, and any doctor who can earn more, or has the capacity to earn more, will run away. So, we have four practices.
Doctors [say] to us, ‘Why can’t I work in Murray Bridge? Why do you force me into Tailem Bend?' They all want to run to Murray Bridge or to Sydney. … so there has to be some extra financial support or some sort of support for the doctors working in the country".
"Now, having said that, there is some support, like the bulk billing incentive is a little bit more in the country area, rather than working in the metro, but because the total number of patients is less, they cannot bill that much. So there has to be a good strong incentive."
Dr Sanjeev believes that a strong incentive would be for the government to pay doctors more money to work in country areas such as Tailem Bend.
In a statement to Murray Bridge News, Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network CEO Wayne Champion said that "We’re deeply disappointed by the decision by Murraylands Medical Centre to cease operations in Tailem Bend."
Nevertheless, Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network were focused on providing ongoing GP services to people in Tailem Bend and surrounding districts.
"The coordination and funding of GP services is a matter for the Commonwealth Government," Mr Champion said, "but we are working with the Coorong District Council and the community on a plan to secure a new provider.
"Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network has plans in place to ensure ongoing coverage is provided at Tailem Bend Hospital beyond October 14.
"We’re passionate about growing rural GP numbers and our Riverland Academy of Clinical Excellence (RACE) is currently training 48 ruralist GPs with the aim of retaining their services in regional SA.
There is increased competition for services across Australia and we are doing what we can to ensure adequate coverage is available in the region.
