‘Six-minute medicine is impossible’: GPs made redundant as clinics axe primary care services
Dr Simon Wilding says the decision is devastating for doctors and their patients, who will struggle to find care elsewhere.
Around 20 GPs will be made redundant after a multi-site community health clinic decided to axe general practice services because bulk-billing was not covering the cost.
Not-for-profit cohealth has blamed a $4 million shortfall between Medicare income and running costs for its decision to stop GP clinics at its Kensington, Fitzroy and Collingwood centres.
GPs who work at the clinics have labelled the decision as devastating but recognise it is impossible to provide care for their more than 12,000 vulnerable patients through bulk-billing.
“We’ve found it impossible to make six-minute medicine work for our patient population,” Melbourne GP Dr Simon Wilding told ABC News.
