But now a younger generation of general practitioners has shifted away from on-call work, leaving just a small group of GPs treating patients only on weekends.

When people had cuts, falls, fractures, urinary infections, sunburn, sick children or holiday accidents, on-call private doctors would attend the public Moyne Health Services urgent care any day of the week.

"We could be called anytime, right through the night," Port Fairy general practitioner Ian Sutherland said.

Dr Sutherland's Port Fairy Medical Clinic had offered the service for the past 28 years, although on-call shifts did not extend past 10.30pm in the final three years.

But the private clinic withdrew the service from 2020 and public nurses with RIPERN qualifications - specialised for rural areas - have since led the 24-seven service with a doctor available through a telehealth service.

Dr Sutherland is among five of the clinic's GPs who have continued the on-call service only on weekends.

"There are the old doctors," he said. "And the new Gen Y doctors; who are more interested in lifestyle balance. There have been issues where the youth haven't wanted to do the on-call work.

"It does interfere with your private life, you can't go out, you can't drink, you have to be available."

Dr Sutherland said concerns had also arisen about the liability of GPs not trained in emergency medicine treating patients in urgent care.

"You were no longer treating your captive population, you were expected to be there for all and sundry," he said.

"In a small town you don't have any reservation about treating people you know and you are historically and geographical connected with. But when treating people from interstate and you don't know anything about them, it puts you in a much more vulnerable position."

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Moyne Health Services has previously said it would continue to evolve urgent care following the GPs curbing back their on-call work.

Moyne Health Services would not comment for this article. It's understood some changes for urgent care could be announced from this week.

The hospital has released a 2020 to 2025 plan including priorities to have "sustainable medical staffing and access to general practice services".

The urgent care was redeveloped as part of a $2.1 million upgrade in 2018.

Dr Sutherland said Moyne Health Services in September sought expressions of interest from individuals or groups "to realise the full potential of urgent care".

"We know they have engaged an entity and the contract is to be drawn up and signed, when that is done we and the hospital and the community will know what that is," Dr Sutherland said.

Dr Sutherland said he had made a submission to the board saying the clinic's doctors could not provide a 24-seven on-call service.

"I can't provide them what they have asked for," he said. "We are holding our breath about what the entity is going to be."

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