A group of concerned doctors and practice staff in Hervey Bay want the Commonwealth to investigate their Primary Health Network.
Clinicians on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast are calling for their Primary Health Network to release a breakdown of its funding allocations, following the contract for an Urgent Care Clinic going to a corporate clinic with no existing footprint in the area.
The Hervey Bay UCC, which was officially opened by federal health minister Mark Butler last week, is operated by clinic chain ForHealth.
According to its website, ForHealth operates 33 of Australia’s 86 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.
A group of local clinicians, practice owners and other stakeholders led by GP Dr Chris Woollard have penned an open letter to the Country to Coast PHN expressing concern that business was being taken away from locally run practices.
“Your recent decisions, including the awarding of the Hervey Bay Medicare Urgent Care Clinic contract, underscore a persistent pattern that favours large external corporate entities over local providers with proven records of service delivery in our community,” they wrote.
Specifically, the group said, it was concerned that the contract appeared to have been awarded to ForHealth prior to its Hervey Bay clinic actually opening its doors.
“This practice [did not yet] exist, raising serious questions about how it was deemed to meet the stipulated requirements,” they said.
Dr Woollard’s practice did not tender for the UCC site, but another well-established clinic in Hervey Bay did, but lost out to ForHealth.
“The PHN’s approach appears to prioritize large corporate organisations, effectively duplicating services rather than bolstering existing local practices,” the letter said.
“This not only undermines local healthcare providers but also diverts critical funding and resources away from the community.”
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The clinician group urged Country to Coast to reevaluate its commissioning strategy and prioritise existing local providers.
Specifically, it wants a breakdown of the proportion of funds directed to local providers versus external entities over the past five years, a commitment to collaboration with local providers and a federal review to ensure the PHN is held accountable to its purpose of supporting primary healthcare.
“The Fraser Coast deserves a PHN that champions local expertise and resources,” the letter said.
They also called for political intervention to advocate for the interests of local healthcare providers and the community.
Country to Coast PHN CEO Julie Sturgess told The Medical Republic that tenders were assessed on merit and in accordance with Commonwealth guidelines and the audited PHN commissioning process.
“While the guidelines encourage participation from existing general practices and community health centres, the final decision is based on the provider’s ability to meet the strict service model criteria and deliver the best outcomes for the community,” she said.
“This process ensures that the selected provider — whether an existing local service or one establishing additional services in the region — is capable and prepared to meet the urgent care needs of the community effectively.”
The other UCCs that fall under Country to Coast are in Rockhampton and Bundaberg.
Rockhampton’s UCC is run by ForHealth.
The Bundaberg clinic, meanwhile, has the curious distinction of being the only UCC in Australia to have shut down, albeit temporarily. It was not run by ForHealth.
Since its unexpected closure in October, Country to Coast has run another tender for the Bundaberg UCC. The result of that is yet to be announced.
“Proposals are rigorously assessed against service model requirements and quality standards to guarantee that patients will receive timely, urgent care services,” Ms Sturgess said.
“Assessed requirements include, but are not limited to, proposed facilities, operating hours, accreditations, ancillary services access (e.g., radiology, pathology, pharmacy), workforce sustainability, surge demand ability (e.g., in the event of heightened community need, like a natural disaster event), and operating budget.”
AMA Queensland president Dr Nick Yim, who co-owns Hervey Bay Doctors with Dr Woollard, told TMR that the region has a growing ageing population and a high chronic disease burden.
“Investment into primary care is important and there are … some concerns, especially in regional rural areas, that urgent care clinics potentially can lead to splitting already of the stretched workforce,” he said.
“That includes our doctors, nurses and practice administration staff.”
Concerns about the Hervey Bay UCC are shared by its federal member of parliament, Keith Pitt, who told the ABC last week that the UCC may “rob Peter to pay Paul” by pulling GPs away from the town’s existing general practices.
ForHealth declined to comment on this story.
