The future of the small suburban GP practice in Canberra is looking bleak with the demise of another clinic and yet more patients left feeling angry and abandoned.
The shock closure of the Kippax Family Practice, in Holt, on Tuesday, has led to one of its doctors, James Cookman, to lash out at its corporate owner, Primary Health Care, saying the company had no interest in keeping the clinic open.
''They closed it more or less by decree [on Tuesday] but they've been doing it by degrees for a long time,'' he said.
''They just haven't engaged with us or tried to make a plan for its long-term viability and I believe the reason for that is because their focus is on cost-cutting.''
Primary Health Care also closed the Wanniassa Medical Centre last year.
ACT Health Minister Katy Gallagher has written to Primary Health Care managing director Dr Edmund Bateman telling him the way the Kippax Family Practice closed was ''most regrettable''.
''I would urge you to reconsider your position and allow the Kippax Family Practice to re-open to enable a smooth transition towards closure that takes into account the needs of patients and doctors,'' she wrote.
An area manager from Primary Health Care arrived at the Kippax Family Practice at 4pm on Tuesday to inform its remaining staff, Dr Cookman, Dr John Petelczyc and nurse Margaret Gabriel, that it was closing.
Yesterday, the staff had no access to the clinic, with the locks changed. A notice informed patients to go to another Primary Health Care-owned clinic, the Ginninderra Medical and Dental Centre in Belconnen.
John Philip, 76, of Florey, has been a patient of the Kippax Family Practice for many years and was feeling ''pissed off'''.
''I'm disabled, my wife's disabled. I had an appointment for tomorrow. Now I'll have to go searching for a doctor,'' he said.
Marjorie Hall, 71, of Holt, was ''very upset''. ''I've gone to Dr Cookman for more than 20 years. He's my doctor who knows my history,'' she said.
Dr Cookman maintained the practice had 3000 patients on its books, saying suggestions by Primary Health Care that it had only 100 regular patients were ''nonsense''.
Kippax Family Clinic saw one of its then three doctors resign last year. Dr Petelczyc was also due to leave the Kippax surgery on March 27 to join the North Canberra Family Practice, a larger clinic to open in Belconnen. Dr Petelczyc and Dr Cookman had been reviewing their positions since the Wanniassa Medical Centre closed, with Dr Cookman also considering moving to the North Canberra Family Practice.
Primary Health Care spokesman Henry Bateman blamed the sudden closure of the Kippax clinic on Dr Cookman's decision to take two weeks' holiday with ''no doctors'' left to run the practice.
However, while Dr Cookman has taken holidays, Dr Petelczyc was covering for him until he returned.
Mr Bateman said the Kippax clinic was not viable.
''It's a small practice most doctors don't want to go into. Doctors want to have the facilities and services a larger practice can offer.''
Mr Bateman said the locks had been changed to protect patients' medical records which were being transferred to the Ginninderra clinic where patients could access them.
He said ultimately Federal Government policy was driving GPs to band together in larger centres to save on overheads. ''The small, localised practice is not sustainable based on the current government funding,'' he said.
Ms Gallagher said there was ''absolutely nothing'' the Government could have done to stop the Kippax clinic closing.
''It's just like any private business and they make business decisions. That's not to say we like it,'' she said.
However, Opposition health spokesman Jeremy Hanson said Ms Gallagher was being distracted by her role as Treasurer and was neglecting the Health portfolio, saying no person could adequately carry both important portfolios.
''I want a health minister that is unburdened with the responsibilities of treasury,'' he said.
Ms Gallagher told Mr Hanson to ''just get over it'', saying she could handle Treasury and Health.
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