I moved to Australia from the UK in 2008 having been a partner in a GP clinic near Portsmouth for 5 years. I was looking for a way to practice medicine in which I could concentrate on helping people rather than explaining why treatments were not available due do cuts. Given the situation in the UK NHS and the lack of support for doctors from the government and media, I decided to try a different way of doing things and moved to Australia. While the Australian system allows more freedom and ability to treat, it is not without its problems. Being essentially a “piece work” method of funding healthcare, it rewards quantity not quality. Having found this increasingly frustrating, I realised that the only way to practice in the way I want was to start my own clinic. There is a better way to provide healthcare and than just to see as many people as you can as quickly as you can. As doctors, we need to be aware of how we treat patients and remember that we treat people not just disease or illness. There is a person sitting in front of us and asking for help. There is nothing more important than this in General Practice. At Dr Try Medical Clinic, I want to focus on health, not just illness. By this I mean patients having a central place they come for advice and support. Medicare has touted the idea of a “medical home” but this is something we have been doing in the UK since the NHS was created. It is not a new idea and is something we should be embracing as GPs. We have assembled an excellent team with a view to providing comprehensive family medicine “from cradle to grave” with continuity of care and good quality, patient centred care including:
Antenatal care
Women’s Health
Men’s Health
Family planning
Kid’s Health
Skin cancer checks and treatment
Health surveillance: PAP smears, bowel cancer screening, health checks
Chronic Disease Management - Diabetes, Heart Disease, Stroke/TIA, etc
Elderly health care
Palliative care
Make Dr Try Medical Clinic your medical home.
