Emily Chapman Laing
Pearcedale may lose yet another long time staple of their town if an application for the medical clinic to be rezoned as rural is denied.
Pearcedale Medical Centre owner Dr Farza Rastegar said restrictions placed on what doctors she is able to hire at the clinic are forcing her to turn away stellar applicants.
Metropolitan clinics can only hire doctors who have been working as a medical professional in Australia for the past 10 years, according to Dr Rastegar.
The Pearcedale Medical Centre has applied to be rezoned as a rural clinic as the requirements for metropolitan clinics leave them desperate for new doctors.
“The doctor has to have been able to work in Australia for 10 years, so I can’t get a new doctor from the UK to come and work for us,“ Dr Farza said.
“I can’t get someone who graduated from uni three years ago.
“We need someone who has been working in a clinic for 10 years, and a person who has been working in a clinic for 10 years has usually settled where they are.“
Dr Rastegar took over the clinic from a retired GP in 2013, and said the issues had followed her during her 10-year stint as head of the clinic.
“It’s been years and it’s the same issues,“ she said.
Locals are distraught at the prospect of losing their beloved local medical staff, but the clinic may face no other choice as metro restrictions keep the centre understaffed.
Resident Debbie Quinn said the “survival of the town“ depends on the authorities realising Pearcedale is a “rural community“.
Many residents commented on the importance of and exceptional service from the Pearcedale Medical Centre, saying they would be disappointed to see the clinic close.
“Dr Farza and the team at Pearcedale Medical Centre are amazing and such an asset to our community,“ resident Sharon Berry said.
“Our family don’t want to travel further and start up with another medical centre.“
Elly Goldsbury said it would be a “catastrophic loss“ for the community if the centre was forced to close its doors.
“Dr Farza and her team are absolutely incredible and have gone above and beyond for my family, especially for our four daughters who they’ve seen since birth,“ she said.
Ruth Ogier said her family has been “more than happy“ with their experiences at the clinic.
“The knowledge that you have a team of competent and compassionate doctors in your home town is profoundly important, especially for families,“ she said.
“We would be sad to see it closed.“
Louise Cook said she “searched high and low“ for a doctor she could “trust“.
“ I would be devastated to lose our local practice,“ she said.
“The team, especially Dr Nadiya, at Pearcedale are amazing.“
Not only is the Pearcedale clinic restricted by their metropolitan status, they are yet to be classed as an “area of need“.
According to the Department of Health, an “area of need“ typically relates to “any location in which there is a lack of specific medical practitioners, or where there is a medical position that remains unfilled following multiple recruitment attempts over a period of time“.
Neighbouring areas, including Frankston, Mornington and Somerville have been reported as areas of need, according to Dr Rastegar, despite having multiple medical clinics.
“Us being the only clinic in the town, we are not considered as area of need,“ Dr Rastegar said.
“Somerville, which has the same postcode [as Pearcedale] is classed as an area of need,“ Practice Manager Carol Bell added.
Ms Bell and Dr Rastegar said their communications with the government over the zoning issue have been laboured and rewarded with flippant responses.
“They just copy and paste an email from the website, and then they handball us to the next person,“ Dr Rastegar said.
Rezoning only happens once each year and is coming up later this month, with the clinic’s application for an exemption currently under review.
The clinic has started a petition and support has flooded in from the community and their patients.
“People come in just to sign,“ Dr Rastegar said.
The clinic has over 3000 active patients who come in at least once per year.
“We just can’t fit them all in,“ Ms Bell said.
The doctors are booking out weeks in advance, leaving patients in need of care with few options.
“We had someone call yesterday [Monday 10 July] and the receptionists told them we don’t have anything, and she was really angry,“ Dr Rastegar said.
“She said, ‘you are my local doctor, why do I have to go somewhere else?’ and that’s a very fair point.
“We are the only doctors clinic in the town, why should our patients have to go somewhere else?“
Dr Rastegar said the clinic was losing patients as it was unable to effectively support the needs of their wealth of patients with so few doctors.
The doctors who operate from the clinic are burnt out and are forced to stay in work-mode beyond their hours in the clinic.
Dr Rastegar finds herself completing scripts and reviewing results late into the night.
“Ten o’clock at night, six o’clock in the morning,“ she said.
“I have to put my kids to bed and then sit down with all of my scripts and results.
“I will get to a level where I leave general practice and go on to insurance paperwork like the other doctors who left.“
The practice has lost three doctors this year.
“Two of them left general practice altogether, because they’re just fed up with Medicare and the government,“ Ms Bell said.
“It’s such a messy situation,“ Dr Rastegar said.
Dr Rastegar said the clinic was functioning effectively when they were able to employ seven doctors.
“We were still booked up, but at least we had four appointments each day where we could fit in sick kids from school or an elderly person with a cough,“ she said.
“We could squeeze in the urgent ones, but now we can’t.“
The lack of doctors operating from the clinic is not due to a lack of interest, but the metropolitan requirements force Dr Rastegar to turn away those who wish to join her.
“We have got a few emailing us saying they’re overseas and they are happy to come and work for us,“ Dr Rastegar said.
“Because we have so many advertisements everywhere.“
The four doctors currently operating from the clinic all came from different suburbs and brought loyal patients with them, who now contribute to the Pearcedale community by frequenting the cafe and pharmacy.
“We are bringing some business because when they come and see us they go to the cafe or they go to the pharmacy across the road,“ Dr Rastegar said.
“It is not only us, it is the whole community that is suffering.“
Ms Bell and Dr Rastegar reached out to their local politicians for support and to, hopefully, get the ball rolling on a palpable solution.
“I am very thankful for Dr Rastegar and Ms Bell from Pearcedale Medical Centre for taking the time to meet with my office and discuss issues regarding their request for exceptional circumstances assessment of non-Distribution Priority Area (DPA) status,“ Holt MP Cassandra Fernando said.
“As the only General Practice in the township of Pearcedale, Pearcedale Medical Centre is an asset to our community that offers critical healthcare support.”
Ms Fernando admitted the Distribution Priority Area (DPA) indicator, used to identify distribution challenges in Australia’s medical workforce, can sometimes miss critical information.
“The Government recognises that sometimes, an area can face pressures that are not picked up in the DPA assessment,“ she said.
“I have contacted the Minister for Health and Aged Care to seek further information in relation to the Casey South GP catchment’s exceptional circumstances application and I continue to liaise with the Minister’s office regarding the status of their application.
“I am determined that our community receives the healthcare they need, when they need it.“
The duo also reached out to Bass MP Jordan Crugnale, hoping to rally more support for their cause.
“I am fully supportive of the centre’s application to be classified as an Area of Need – they have over 3000 active patients on their register, need more doctors so as to best support the health and wellbeing needs of the local and surrounding communities of Pearcedale,“ Ms Crugnale said.
“I have been working closely with Cassandra Fernando MP, been in discussion with our State Health Minister’s office and offered assistance where required with supporting the Centre’s application.
“Delivering health care close to home is vital and we want to make sure when you need an appointment in your local area you can get one.“
