United pressure for GP

By Dion Teasdale
WARBURTON Highway township and business groups have united in a desire to see a permanent after hours GP service established in the Upper Yarra.
Representatives from Millgrove Residents Action Group (MRAG), Bridge 3799, Upper Yarra Community Voice and the Yarra Junction Business Development Group (YJBDG) met last week to discuss the proposal.
The meeting was called after reports in the Mail revealed that the Eastern Ranges GP Association (ERGPA) had applied to the Federal Government to fund a $500,000-a-year mobile GP service for the region.
The plan to service the Upper Yarra with a mobile GP, who would travel in a 4WD with a satellite phone and a security guard, has the support of Federal McEwen MP Fran Bailey, but has been labelled as a ‘joke’ by Gembrook MP Tammy Lobato.
Upper Yarra township and church groups, outraged by the plan and news that an after hours GP clinic earmarked for Yarra Junction would be unlikely to go ahead, convened an emergency meeting last Tuesday, 5 September.
Maureen Halit, MRAG president, said the meeting was very productive, despite Ms Bailey, Ms Lobato and representatives from the ERGPA being unable to attend.
“The groups at the meeting all agree that the plan to service the Upper Yarra with a mobile GP service won’t work,” she said.
“What we all want to see is a permanent base from which a triage service can operate with a nurse on site and a doctor on call.”
Ms Halit said the groups agreed that the $500,000 needed to run a mobile service could be better spent and resolved to request a formal meeting with the ERGPA to discuss the after hours needs of the Upper Yarra community.
Glennice Mathers, Upper Yarra Community Voice president, said she was looking forward to meeting with the ERGPA.
“What we need to get across is that a mobile GP service won’t do for the Upper Yarra,” she said.
“We deserve a permanent base, whether in Yarra Junction or Warburton.”
Kristin Michaels, ERGPA chief executive, said late notice of last week’s meeting had prevented representatives from her organisation attending but reiterated an eagerness to meet with the groups.
“We are happy to meet and hear their ideas and are hoping to get together by the end of the month,” she said.