The Rockliff Liberal Government is again stepping in to shore up regional Tasmanian primary health, after a lack of support from the Federal Government on the East Devonport Medical Centre merger.
“Following on from similar efforts to save GP practices at St Marys and Bridgewater, I’m delighted to confirm our government will provide the assistance needed to ensure the East Devonport Medical Centre can reopen as a stand-alone facility,” said Minister for Health, Guy Barnett.
“The clinic is on track to reopen within two months. We will provide transport solutions for impacted patients in the interim.
“We have worked hand-in-hand with the local community and key stakeholders, hosting three roundtables in recent months, to achieve this solution. I want to thank all those who have supported that effort, and to the wider community for their input and ongoing patience.
“It is frankly disappointing the state government has again had to step in to save another practice as the Federal Labor Government continues to fail in its obligations to support general practitioners across our state.
“As I have previously stated: Tasmania is bearing the brunt of a chronic shortage of GPs. This is having serious flow-on effects throughout our health system, including putting additional strain on our hospitals, and in particular our emergency departments.
“Clearly, we’re not sitting around waiting for the Federal Government to fix broken Medicare GP funding.
“The Rockliff Liberal Government has invested in range of primary healthcare related initiatives.
“Such initiatives include the opening of four jointly funded Medicare Urgent Care Centres across Tasmania, Tasmania’s Single Employer Model pilot for General Practitioner training, and grants to support access to after-hours primary care.
“The Rockliff Liberal Government has been, and continues to, strongly advocate for increased Commonwealth support for general practice and broader primary care in Tasmania.”
