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Care Opinion

Lack of medical attention

Posted By talonzz88

"Lack of medical attention"

About: Kerang Medical Clinic

(as the patient),

After years of severe chronic pain and my doctor leaving I have tried managing the pain with over-the-counter medication. I feel I have now got to the point where the pain is so bad I take approx 5000 mg of medication each day, which I feel isn't quite working anymore so I decided to call Kerang Medical Clinic.

I was asked if I had been there before, I stated yes, a long time ago, only to be told that I would be classed as a new patient & doctors aren't taking any new patients & if they were they were booked out until mid March. They advised me to try another clinic which I informed them I had been denied any help there twice! I feel I am at a point where I can barely walk with severe chronic pain despite all the medication & it would be impossible for me to go to another town. 

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Responses

Response from Timothy Vellacott, Practice Manager, Kerang Medical Clinic, Kerang District Health 4 years ago
Timothy Vellacott
Practice Manager, Kerang Medical Clinic,
Kerang District Health

Submitted on 24/01/2020 at 11:17 AM
Published on Care Opinion at 11:36 AM

picture of Timothy Vellacott

Dear talonzz88,

Thank you for taking the time to write about your experience with Kerang Medical Clinic.

I understand from your post that you currently see a doctor at another medical clinic but feel you are not getting the treatment that you require.

Our goal is to provide the best care possible to all our patients which we would love to extend to all of the people that ask us, however, we are constrained by the availability of GPs and the number of patients that we are currently looking after. We are aware of the need to be able to provide services in a timely manner while also having the ability to manage more urgent presentations as they arise. If we take on more patients than we can manage it pushes out our wait times further creating frustration for both our existing patients and the new patients which are unable to be seen in an acceptable time frame. This also places pressure and unrealistic expectations on our GPs.

If you would like to discuss this further I can be contacted at the clinic by phone on 5450 8060,email tvellacott@kerhosp.vic.gov.au, or face to face at the clinic.

Kind Regards,

Tim Vellacott

Practice Manager

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Response from Sue Gray, NUM District Services, Clinical Services, Kerang District Health 4 years ago
Sue Gray
NUM District Services, Clinical Services,
Kerang District Health

Submitted on 29/01/2020 at 5:14 PM
Published on Care Opinion at 5:28 PM

picture of Sue Gray

Dear talonzz88,

Thank you for your feedback. Chronic pain is a very difficult condition to manage and I can understand your high levels of frustration.

Unfortunately, Kerang Medical Clinic currently does not have the capacity to accept new patients. As an organisation we continue to advertise for new General Practitioners to come to the area with little success.

I would like to discuss further with you strategies to manage your current pain and other options, such as the Pain Management Clinic in Bendigo/ alternative therapies.

Please feel free to contact me at Kerang District Health on 5450 9200.

Regards

Sue Gray

Acting Director of Clinical Services

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