Turned away: Long-term patients of medical clinics told to go elsewhere

The Standard has spoken to a number of south-west residents who have been advised they are no longer a client of the clinic they had regularly attended because there had been a long period of time between visits.

One south-west woman, who asked not to be named, said her husband was shocked when he was told he could not book an appointment at the Warrnambool clinic he had attended for years.

"He was told they could not accept his booking because he had not attended for a while and would therefore be considered a new patient," she said.

The woman said it was the only clinic he had attended in many years and his full medical history was with the practice.

"He tried booking an appointment with a few other clinics but he was told they were not taking on any new patients," she said.

Warrnambool medical professor James Dunbar said there was a shortage of GPs due to a number of factors, including the federal government decision to freeze the Medicare rebate.

Professor Dunbar said there was a reason only 15 per cent of graduates were choosing to become GPs compared to 50 per cent several years ago.

"There's been a huge crash because there has been a decade of what is basically a pay freeze," Professor Dunbar said.

He said it was a struggle financially to run a medical practice, which meant less were offering bulk billing.

"It becomes a vicious cycle because a greater burden remains on those who are still there (the GPs at clinics).

"They become more demoralised and burnt out and feel devalued because of the loss of income."

Professor Dunbar said the government needed to act fast to address the problem.

"Even if the government can fund the solutions, it will take more than 10 years to fix the problem because that's how long it takes to train a GP," he said.

His comments come as a Woolsthorpe woman told The Standard she was unable to secure an appointment with a doctor for four weeks.

Ann Edwards, 67, has complex health issues - with only part of her pancreas remaining, no spleen and diverticulitis.

About a month ago she was feeling very unwell and from past experience knew she needed a dose of antibiotics.

However, the clinic she regularly attended told her there were no appointments available in the near future.

Mrs Edwards, who knew she was very unwell, tried to get appointments at a number of other clinics across the south-west but was told they were either not taking new patients or she could join a waiting list.

She eventually had no choice but to visit the Warrnambool emergency department, where she waited for 10 hours.