An independently owned GP surgery in Richmond will close its doors at the end of February due to the “increasing costs”.
Bridge Street Surgery owner Dr Robyn Mathews said she made the “difficult decision” to shut her solo practice after six years of providing care to the local community.
Mathews, who has expanded the practice to include two additional part-time GPs since 2019, cited several factors that led to the move.
She blamed “modest” Medicare rebate increases, an inability to secure long-term GPs and a failure to obtain state government funding for a nurse practitioner and practice upgrades.
“Knowing the inability of patients to pay an increasing gap fee for their healthcare and the difficulty for patients to access general practice services elsewhere, I have not made this decision without trying my hardest to make this practice work,” she said.
“The reality is that with rising small business costs … this small surgery is financially unsustainable and cannot attract long-term GPs.”
“I and my staff are sorry to see this practice close. But I was left with no option.”
Mathews and fellow GP Dr Hodgman will continue to practice at Eastern Shore Doctors Bellerive, while Dr Bates will remain at City Doctors and Travel Clinic in Hobart.
They will assist patients in transferring their medical records to other practices over the next six weeks.
