The federal government put aside more than $30 million in grant money over two years to prop up general practice in areas of market failure. Who knew!
After close to three years without, the far north Queensland town of Mission Beach has access to a GP clinic again – primarily thanks to a collaboration spanning private general practice, the local Primary Health Network, a council and the state hospital and health service.
Mission Medical will be operated as a satellite clinic by Tully Medical, an existing general practice located about 25 minutes’ drive inland.
The Cassowary Coast regional council has paid one year’s rent for Mission Medical, and Tully Medical received funding for additional setup and running costs through the Northern Queensland PHN under the federal government’s GP Incentive Fund Program.
It’s the first new practice to open using grant money put aside in the 2023 budget specifically to support healthcare in thin markets.
In all, the Department of Health and Aged Care allocated $33 million – $16.6m in both 2023 and 2024 budgets – to the grant opportunity.
It will continue to take grant applications for the program through to 17 February 2025.
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Tully Medical practice owner, GP Dr Kim Favier, told The Medical Republic that she hoped having a practice set up would encourage GPs and allied health staff to relocate to Mission Beach.
“I’ve been led to believe that some doctors may have been interested, perhaps, in moving to Mission Beach – but … it’s too expensive, too onerous, too risky and too difficult to start up a practice, and it’s not viable to have a solo practice,” she said.
“If you’re a solo doctor moving into an area, you generally want to join an established group practice.
“It’s just simply not viable anymore to have a solo practice – the infrastructure, the equipment, even doing all the leasing and your phones … it’s a commitment for many years.
“You can’t just hang up your shingle and start seeing patients and hope for the best.”
Tully Medical hasn’t hired any additional doctors to take on the additional workload of the second practice, but two part-time ACRRM registrars will be arriving in January.
Helping to ease the expansion is the fact that a high proportion of Tully Medical’s current patients were travelling from Mission Beach.
“Basically, the doctors are traveling to the patient rather than patients traveling to us,” Dr Favier said.
Driving between Mission Beach and Tully is an hour-long round trip, with no public transport options.
Patients who couldn’t drive were relying on friends and family for a lift into the town or were paying taxi fees.
“A lot of patients [in Mission Beach] have had to travel either to Tully, Cardwell, Innisfail, Cairns or further afield, or do everything on telehealth,” Dr Favier said.
“We have a lot of patients who travel into Tully once to have their blood test done and then again to see the GP for those results on a separate day.”
Northern Queensland PHN interim CEO Ben Tooth said the opening of Mission Medical was a positive outcome for the community.
“We know residents have had to travel outside the area to see a GP, and that public transport options are limited,” he said.
“We are proud to work with our partners to achieve this place-based and locally implemented solution for the community.”
