Port Fairy urgent care centre to have doctors on call over busy summer period

It's been almost two years since the centre moved to a nurse-led model after doctors at Port Fairy Medical Clinic stopped offering on-call services during the week.

At the time Moyne Health chief executive Jackie Kelly said the service was considering further options that could include employing public doctors.

READ MORE: Moyne Health Services adopts nurse-operated urgent care model as patient numbers climb

However, one doctor from Port Fairy Medical Clinic and Shearwater Clinic will be on call a day during the busy tourist summer season.

"We're still using the 24-hour telehealth service," Ms Kelly said.

"Shearwater Medical have partnered with us to start looking at more levels of urgent care including medical support as well.

"We hope to be up and running by Easter next year.

"We've got a number of doctors on call over the summer break from December to February."

Currently, patients presenting to the urgent care centre in need of a doctor's assessment are seen over the phone or via video call through an app called My Emergency Dr.

The community raised $700,000 towards the $2.1 million centre.

South West Coast MP and former rural nurse Roma Britnell said the government had a responsibility for incentivising workers to the regions.

"It's not a reflection of the hospital, I think it's a reflection of workplace planning and the government not taking action," she said. "How are you going to attract people if there's no incentives there?

"Country people need as much access to medical care as metropolitan communities.

"I'm sure the community is disappointed as it did clearly want an urgent care centre and nothing's as important as having human-to-human contact."

It comes as patient presentations climbed 22 per cent in the past 12 months compared to the year before.

From January to November 2021, 1626 patients presented to the urgent care centre.

Of those, around 200 patients (13 per cent) were transferred to South West Healthcare.

That compares to 1267 patients in 2020, 1714 patients in 2019 and 943 in 2018.

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