I've been seeing my GP for near 30 years. He's in his seventies and always been pretty healthy but his long term locum of twenty years retired recently and he's now in his practice by himself.
He's often told me how difficult it is to get insurance and further how complex it has become just to stay in practice, that it is common among peers and colleagues to take early retirement or/and otherwise leave the field.
I don't know what else to say except that the idea he may retire (something he's always said he has no interest in doing) generates a fear in me I've not experienced since I was a small child. Without the support of this man I have zero doubt my life would be very different today, immeasurably worse.
We really should be thinking about how we can ensure GPs feel supported in this country, it never seems to come up when folks campaign for office.
#community #ausPolitics #generalPractice #medicalSupport #medicine #nursing #ausPol