The Doctors Bayfair is closing the Sunday acute walk-in clinic for a minimum of six weeks. Photo / George Novak
A general practice walk-in clinic being forced to close on Sundays over the next six weeks is the latest symptom of a GP shortage affecting the Bay of Plenty.
The Doctors Bayfair clinic closure has prompted calls for the central Government to step in.
Second Ave Accident and HealthCare would remain open on Sundays, with manager Dave Gilbert saying The Doctors closure would put more pressure on their clinic. Western Bay of Plenty Primary Health Organisation disagrees.
The closure could continue for longer than six weeks. However, staffing capacity would be reassessed regularly during the closure to see if the practice could open the clinic "safely" again.
It comes after the clinic was forced to close last month as a result of one doctor being sick. At the time, The Doctors regional nurse manager Wendy Dillion said she had noticed the shortage growing significantly over the past five years and it was reaching a crisis point.
Green Cross Health Medical Bay of Plenty medical business manager Philippa Fox said the Sunday closure of The Doctors walk-in clinic was not ideal.
"Our preference is we are there for our patients.
"For now, it's more important to consider the stress levels and the impact that reduced staffing has on our team and the safety of our service provision for patients."
During the rest of the week, the walk-in service will be open.
"If patients have a booked appointment or need walk-in care any other days, please continue to come in as you normally would, we're here to help," the website said.
"We realise this will be an inconvenience for many local people and thank you for your understanding and patience."
Gilbert, manager of Second Ave Accident and HealthCare, said The Doctors closure would see more patients presenting to their clinic on Sundays. He said it would "obviously" put more pressure on staff.
"This may result in longer waiting times than normal," Gilbert said. "We would ask that the public be patient with our staff if they end up waiting longer than they normally would.
"Our clinic does see an increase in the numbers of patients attending every winter, and with the added pressure of RSV in the community in addition to managing our way through Covid, this has certainly been a challenging period of time for our clinic.
"This coupled with no tolerance for any sickness in the workplace has also had an impact on our clinic from both a staffing and patient management perspective."
Meanwhile, Western Bay PHO practise services general manager Phil Back said the closure of The Doctors walk-in clinic was not expected to have a great impact on other services.
All 31 practices across the PHO network had experienced high demand this winter, Back said.
"The increase in demand means some patients may have to wait longer to see their doctor, and others may be triaged by phone instead of seen in-person if clinically appropriate," Back said.
"Winter illnesses and a nationwide GP shortage have impacted on all practices across the region. As well as the well-canvassed issues of burnout and under-investment in GP training, the border closures continue to make it difficult to recruit doctors from overseas."
The Bay of Plenty District Health Board had noticed the regular surge in winter illness and had been affected by RSV presentations, integrated operations centre manager Michelle Cullinane said.
However, there had not been a "significant increase" in doctors' sick calls and Cullinane had implemented the seasonal plan to manage both occupancy and staffing.
"We appreciate that the pressure is on our GP colleagues.
"We are prepared for surges in line with our forecasting and usual winter planning. We don't anticipate a significant impact, however, we will continue to monitor the situation."
Last month, the Bay of Plenty Times reported the region was feeling the effects of a general practitioner shortage that was "reaching crisis point" around the country.
Burnout among GPs has jumped to 30 per cent of the workforce, up from 22 per cent in 2016, according to a recent Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners survey.
In the Bay of Plenty District Health Board area, more than one-third of GPs scored between 7 and 10 on the burnout scale, reflecting a national picture of stress in primary care.
Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners medical director Dr Bryan Betty said the closure would impact community access to medical care. It was also seen with the number of general practices closing their books to new patients.
"What you see is lack of access to medical care and that's a real concern because, at that point, you tend to get poor outcomes for patients. Or you tend to get a flow-through back into emergency departments and hospitals as a result of people not getting medical treatment daily.
"It is very much a concern to the community and to the country."
Betty said The Doctors Bayfair clinic closure was symptomatic of a national problem that had emerged as a result of a GP shortage.
Asked if these closures were something the community should become accustomed to, as a result of the shortage, Betty said no.
"Every study around the world shows that when this starts to happen, you get poor long-term outcomes. That's something that does need to be addressed at a national basis."
Betty called for the Ministry of Health and central government to take the closure "very seriously".
A Ministry of Health spokesman said primary care sat in the heart of looming health reforms and therefore the model of care was changing.
"The Ministry acknowledges there is a need for more GPs and nurses.
"Having an adequate supply of GPs is important, however, it is envisioned the new health system will provide additional opportunities in primary and community care for the full range of health professionals, including nurses, physiotherapists, pharmacists, healthcare assistants, midwives, dieticians and others to increase their scope of practice."
Patient portals, telephone triage and telehealth consultations were an example of emerging models of care that made better use of the combined skills of the primary healthcare team, the spokesman said.
• The Doctors Bayfair acute walk-in clinic will be closed on Sunday for a minimum of six weeks;
• From August 1 until September 13 the services will not be available on Sunday;
• The closure will be reassessed to ensure it can openly safely after September 13;
• If people need urgent or acute walk-in care on Sundays over these six weeks, go to 2nd Avenue Accident & HealthCare who are open on Sundays from 8am to 9pm.
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