COBARGO residents have been left without a local doctor following the retirement of Dr Jeffery Lee last week.
Dr Lee announced his retirement last Monday and patients were informed that his practice would close its doors on Friday.
Dr Lee had sought a replacement for the past two years, but was unable to find one, although a group of locals have managed to contact a general practitioner from Cooma who may be able to work as a locum.
Cobargo Pharmacy manager Maz Meshki said that many of his customers were concerned by the situation.
“We have a lot of elderly people and they have been trying very hard to get into other clinics in the area,” he said.
“It is really urgent that we find somebody.”
Cobargo resident and patient Joanne Cole said she completely understood Dr Lee’s decision to move on but was deeply upset by his leaving.
“Dr Lee is a good listener, a great bloke and I’ve developed a real sense of trust in him,” she said.
“I’m just very sad that he’s leaving - his receptionist Helen will probably be out of a job as well and I don’t know where I’m going to find another doctor.”
Ms Cole said the surgery had referred her to either Bermagui or Narooma practices, but both of these were an 80-kilometre round trip from her residence near Yowrie and she believed that all Bega clinics had closed their books to new patients.
“I don’t know what the process is to get somebody, but I’d be happy for any medical professional to replace Dr Lee in Cobargo,” she said.
Bega Valley Shire mayor and Cobargo farmer Cr Tony Allen said the decision taken by Dr Lee was symbolic of the health issues facing people in rural areas.
“We have been blessed with people like Dr Lee who have come to a small country town and given it their all,” he said.
“He has given great support and comfort to many in the area, but we understand that these people move on in time.
“We’ve got to work on finding a replacement which will be very difficult and there will be people who will suffer because of it.
“It is really sad to see Dr Lee go but we wish him the best of health and happiness wherever he goes.”
Rural Doctors Network (RDN) CEO Dr Ian Cameron said that the RDN was aware that Dr Lee is leaving and would be advertising for a suitable replacement.
Dr Cameron said, however, that Dr Lee being the only GP in town makes the search for a replacement more difficult.
“We can’t get someone from overseas because there is a period of face-to-face supervision that these doctors need to undergo and there is no other doctor in town to do that,” he said.
“It is possible that we could find a doctor from a nearby town to do outreach supervision and we will be getting in touch with the Southern GP Network to explore the range of options.”
Dr Cameron said these options included using incentives offered at a federal and possibly local government level.
The Commonwealth Government offers a relocation grant of $30,000 for doctors who move from a capital city to a regional area, while some local councils have developed incentive packages to lure doctors to rural areas.
“There have been councils that have bought a surgery and set it up so it’s ready for a new doctor, or offered housing and reduced educational fees for doctors’ children.”
Australian Medical Association (AMA) NSW medical director Dr Robyn Napier said that there is a wider doctor shortage at the moment which means that even these measures can be unsuccessful in attracting doctors to rural areas.
“I’ve never seen the shortage as severe as it is now and people need to understand this is not just a country affliction - it is national and it’s global,” she said.
Dr Napier said that the AMA recognised years ago that this shortage would occur and had lobbied against measures which were reducing the number of doctors and stretching existing doctors to the limit, such as the squeeze on medical places at university.
In the meantime, Dr Napier and Dr Cameron both said that having proactive local people involved and working with organisations like the Southern GP Network and local government to find a doctor is often the best chance of success.
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