Rural Victorian town left without bulk-billing doctor after clinic closes doors

The Tristar medical group, which owns the Mildura clinic, went into voluntary administration in May, and after the sale of the clinic to another medical group fell through earlier in August, the clinic has closed its doors.

Tristar, which owned clinics across regional Australia and which is known for hiring international medical graduates to staff regional towns, has multiple unpaid creditors and has been under financial stress for several years.

Phair said he had been trying to get answers about what has happened to the medical records of the patients who attended the clinic.

The chief executive of the Murray Primary Health Network, Matt Jones, said a number of options were being explored such as other GP clinics employing the Tristar doctors, expanded telehealth and e-prescription services for the region, and temporary pop-up primary care clinics.

He said it is clear bulk billing is no longer a viable model for regions like Mildura.

In a bid to address low bulk-billing rates and a growing struggle to access primary care, the Victoria premier, Daniel Andrews, and the New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, made a joint announcement on Tuesday that 50 urgent care clinics will be established across both states.

Primary health networks and existing general practices will partner together to run the clinics, which will handle issues such as mild infections, fractures and burns. They will have extended operating hours and patients will not be charged to use them.

It is hoped the measure would address pressure on state hospitals.

On Monday, Cupper wrote to the federal health minister, Mark Butler, to request a meeting to discuss the closure and possible solutions to address the shortage of GPs in the region.

She has suggested implementing a subsidy, similar to the one announced by the Victorian government for nurses and midwives, to subsidise the cost of undergraduate and postgraduate studies and vocational training for medical graduates who commit to specialising in general practice and working in a rural or remote area when they graduate.