'Different doctor every fortnight' is the reality for these residents

Strahan residents Jamie and Gaylene McGuinness have not had a regular GP since 2017. (ABC News: Sandy Powell) A tiny town on Tasmania's west coast has been without a permanent general practitioner (GP) since 2017. That leaves Strahan residents without the continuity of care medical advocates say is essential for good health management. Ochre Health has made an offer to a permanent doctor and hopes to make an announcement in the coming weeks. Link copiedShareShare articleSince a car crash 20 years ago, Jamie McGuinness has been living with a permanent brain injury. But Jamie lives in Strahan on Tasmania's west coast, a town that has not had a permanent GP since 2017. The clinic's owner, Ochre Health, has been trying to change that for years, with a range of incentives on offer for a doctor willing to live and work in the remote community. The company is hoping to announce in the coming weeks that a doctor has been found, but they have had false starts at Strahan before. If a doctor is found, Jamie said it will be "awesome" because he will not need to keep repeating his story to every GP who visits the clinic on a short-term locum contract. Ochre Health has been trying to hire a permanent GP for years. (Google Maps) The clinic does have a regular visiting GP, Greg Booth, with whom Jamie has a strong relationship. "I get along with him very good," Jamie said. "Very funny. Very smart. Switched on. He's all there. He understands what's wrong." But when Dr Booth is not available, Jamie must see another doctor. When Jamie's regular visiting GP is not available, he has to see someone else and explain his situation "over and over". (Unsplash: Frederick Medina) Jamie said it made him feel "frustrated" to repeat his story because he had speech difficulties. When asked what it would mean to have a permanent GP at Strahan, he kept his answer brief: "awesome". Jamie's mother, Gaylene, said that the issue of seeing a "different doctor every fortnight" affects everyone in Strahan. "You wouldn't have to explain to the doctor every time what's wrong with you; [they] would know you," Gaylene said. When Anne Townsend's mother was recently unwell, she had to be taken to hospital due to a shortage of GPs. But even there she couldn't get treatment. Jamie's family has no interest in moving to somewhere more populated to access healthcare. "This is our home, and we know everybody," Gaylene said. Jamie and his family have no interest in living anywhere but Strahan. (ABC News: Morgan Timms) Ochre Health has been advertising for a GP at the Strahan clinic for years, and is offering help with accommodation and a car, relocation grants and possible earnings of more than $300,000 per year. Molly Rumbold, Ochre Health's rural area manager, is a born and raised west-coast woman, but she knows it can be an isolating place for a new person. "And I feel like we sell it the right way, there's literally just not enough GPs … that want to come out rurally." Molly Rumbold says the issue is not with Strahan as a town, but with the scarcity of doctors willing to live rurally. (ABC News: Sandy Powell) Ochre has made an offer to a new doctor and hoped to make an official announcement in the coming weeks, but the company had been in this position before. As demand for healthcare outstrips supply, some country towns have been offering huge incentives to attract doctors but other shires have raised concerns about being unable to retain or attract GPs because they can't afford it. "We've had quite a bit of interest in Strahan, but it's the logistics of the moving here from far away," Ms Rumbold said. "We had one doctor who came and signed on permanently, and lasted one week. Ms Rumbold said it was not just about the doctor, but possibly their family and what they needed in terms of schooling and work. "We want to make something work for the community, and we want to make something work for any potential GP," she said. Fewer than 700 people live in Strahan, according to the most recent census data. (Supplied: Strahan Village) The lack of a permanent GP in places like Strahan means patients like Jamie are missing out on what the health sector calls "continuity of care". Toby Gardner, chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Tasmania, said that the concept was essential to good healthcare. "We know the best care that you get from your doctor is with one who knows you and who has followed your journey all the way through," Dr Gardner said. Toby Gardner says continuity of care is essential to good healthcare. (ABC News: Jonny McNee) But the situation is not unique to Strahan, or even rural Tasmania. In 2024, the federal Department of Health estimated the country was short about 2,400 GPs, and that number would grow to 8,900 by 2048, disproportionately affecting rural and regional areas. Dr Gardner said those areas that once had dedicated long-serving GPs had struggled to replace them as they retire

'Different doctor every fortnight' is the reality for these residents

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