Balclutha General Practi-tioners Ltd (BGPL) yesterday warned it was experiencing a "serious shortage of doctors" and admitted it was struggling to recruit new doctors to work in the mainly rural practice. The problem will get worse next month when a third GP heads abroad.
The practice's two remaining GPs, Drs Branko Sijnja and Abraham Visagie, will be working long hours to deal with not only their patients, but patients of those three staff who are packing their bags to work overseas.
The practice is asking patients to be understanding by planning their regular visits in advance. In some instances, practice nurses may be able to help patients, freeing up time for the doctors to attend to more serious cases.
Two foreign doctors, who joined BGPL on six-month contracts last October, recently returned home while Dr Bob Bencze, who came from the United States in January 2008, leaves at the end of this month and Dr Claire McAlinden, who joined in October 2005, is planning to briefly return to Scotland but is unlikely to return to South Otago for work.
BGPL, which was founded by local doctors five years ago, was sold to Clutha Health First (CHF) last year.
In a statement, BGPL spokesman and CHF manager Ray Anton said the departures will undoubtedly leave it experiencing a serious shortage of GPs.
"This will severely affect patients' ability to obtain appointments in the interim until new recruits arrive."
As well as Drs Sijnja and Visagie taking on extra duties, a Wanaka-based doctor, working part-time in the Balclutha practice will help, as will Drs Janice Sargent and Angie Wijetunga, but the personal commitments of those two will limit their availability, Mr Anton said.
And Mr Anton suggested the problem would not go away as it battled to find fresh staff.
"Today's GPs are steering away from rural practice with the responsibilities that go with it. Many would prefer to work a Monday to Friday week with no after-hours and weekend work," he said. Although some staffing relief was on the way, it will still be several weeks.
Scottish GP Dr Keith Abbott will start at the end of August while another doctor is waiting on Medical Council and immigration clearance and hopes to start by the end of June.
