Portarlington GPs go private amid doctor shortage

A STAFF shortage has led the Bellarine’s primary health service to team up with a private provider to continue general practice (GP) services at Portarlington.

Bellarine Community Health (BCH) has announced a partnership with Epichealth, which will take control of the GP clinic at the Fenwick Street.

BCH will remain in charge of allied health and social support services from the same site.

The health service said the new model would result in a more sustainable service for the Portarlington community after struggling to attract more doctors to work in the area.

The health service said the change would help boost its financial position while “maintaining and expanding access to high-quality GP services for the local community”.

“BCH has been unable to recruit more GPs to grow the clinic in Portarlington, which is necessary to provide greater service to the community and keep the clinic viable,” chief executive officer Garry Ellis said. “As a result, it is no longer sustainable for BCH to run the clinic, so we have sought out a trusted provider of GP services to partner with.”

Epichealth already has three clinics up and running at Ocean Grove, where it has been for 15 years, and three more at Langwarrin, Mornington and Yarra Glen.

It employs a total of 16 doctors across its sites.

Epichealth representative Jeremy Forrester said the service’s existing pool of health professionals would ensure Portarlington GP services remained up to standard.

“Our larger pool of staff means we have the capacity to support all our clinics which will provide a more sustainable service for the local community,” Mr Forrester said.

“Epichealth is a community-minded GP provider and is focused on maintaining and growing high quality GP services for people in the Portarlington area.”

BCH said it had informed clients of the change and would assist them through the transition of clinic operations. It said all existing staff had been offered ongoing employment at Epichealth.

A shortage of GPs following the pandemic, especially in regional areas, has been identified as a major problem for Australia’s health system as it impacts patient wait times and costs.

Portarlington and the Bellarine’s federal electorate Corangamite earned Distribution Priority Area status in July as part of a federal government expansion of the program that encourages international graduates to relocate to regional areas struggling to recruit professionals.

“I see first-hand the impact that a lack of GP services has on our community,” Corangamite federal member Libby Coker said at the time.

“I’ve met with a number of local GPs and their practice managers who have identified a shortage of GPs as a real issue impacting wait times and delivery of care.”