Severe staff shortages see face-to-face consults crash, warns leading GP
Dr Mukesh Haikerwal says his practice has been forced to move to emergency-only and telehealth consults
A leading GP says his practice has moved to emergency-only consults and telehealth because half its staff are away with COVID-19 or in isolation.
Victoria-based Dr Mukesh Haikerwal says his practice is down four GPs and has been forced to move to the new arrangements after realising it doesn’t have enough staff to safely run its usual face-to-face clinical sessions.
Nurse numbers and front-desk staff were also down at his Altona North practice in Melbourne’s inner west, he said.
As of Thursday, 24 of the practice’s 40-45 staff were off including four of the 17 GPs and GP registrars.
