Queensland residential aged care GP clinics open
New onsite medical consultation rooms, staffed by local GPs, have opened at Queensland’s residential aged care facilities, Salem Northridge in Toowoomba, and Orana Lutheran Complex at Kingaroy.
Dr David Bilbrough at Salem Northridge's GP clinic with resident, Lisabeth Willadsen.
The project was developed in partnership between Queensland aged care provider, Lutheran Community Care and the Darling Downs – South West Queensland Medicare Local.
The Medicare Local provided $20,000 to each service to assist with the capital costs of refurbishing the rooms and buying state of the art medical equipment.
Both clinics will operate one to two days a week.
At the moment, residents needing assessment by a doctor rely on ‘in room’ visits from their usual GP or transport to a hospital accident and emergency department.
Maxine Noone, Northridge Salem director of nursing, said it was expected the new model would not only improve resident care, but it would also avoid premature hospital admissions for non life threatening conditions.
“In the past, if a resident needed to see a doctor and their usual GP was unavailable, it would often involve transfer to hospital, which is not only timeconsuming … but also very stressful for residents,’’ Ms Noone said.
“Having a GP on site conducting regular clinics will allow any medical concerns to be investigated promptly [and] the examination can be performed more thoroughly as the examination table is specifically for this purpose. The GPs will now also be able to perform minor medical procedures on site, eradicating the need for the resident to organise transport to a surgery.”
Orana manager, Kym Zischke, said under the initiative, the visiting GPs will also deliver medical training to nursing staff to increase their skills, with the flow on effect of reducing the number of admissions to hospital.
GP access to patients is a topic that has created a media talking point in recent months.
Dr Steve Hambleton, former Australian Medical Association (AMA) president, said aged care residents should have better access to medical services.
He claimed only about 21% of GPs reportedly regularly visit nursing homes, often dealing with significant inconveniences in trying to see their patients, including basic practicalities like finding a car park and getting security access.
Ms Noone said residents, staff, and GPs were excited about the new venture as it allowed residents to maintain independence by enabling them to attend GP appointments within the facility.
