A quarter of GP clinics in Hunter-New England and Central Coast have closed their books to patients and almost half are showing signs of financial trouble, a survey shows. Login or signup to continue reading The district's Primary Health Network released the survey this week in a report on " general practice business viability". Dr Milton Sales, who runs the Brunker Rd General Practice at Adamstown, said "there really aren't enough GPs in Newcastle".
"The issue of closed books will get worse as our ageing GPs retire," Dr Sales said. He added that only 15 per cent of medical graduates were choosing to become GPs. Dr Max Mollenkopf, who runs Whitebridge Medical Centre, said "general practice has been under attack for a number of years".
"A lot of patients struggle to afford care. As a profession, we feel deeply that we want everyone to have equitable access to care," Dr Mollenkopf said. "The solution is a clear plan from the federal government for general practice funding that we can rely on, knowing it will be indexed and available.
" The federal government's most recent increase of Medicare rebates was 4 per cent, but healthcare CPI for staff, rent and consumables rose by more than 6 per cent. While clinics faced financial issues, Dr Sales said "the people who are most suffering are probably the one income, three kids family". "They don't get benefits and have to choose which kid to take to the doctor.
" The PHN report said solo GPs or small practices with two to five GPs were .