GP'S in Sydney's west say patients are avoiding trips to the doctor because they can't afford to pay the gap, and that bulk billing options are disappearing. New data shows access to healthcare is the number one concern for people living in those suburbs.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00When Richard and Julie stood at the reception of their GP and were asked to pay a fee for the first time in 25 years, they were shocked.
00:10The couple have a number of chronic health conditions and without help face hard choices.
00:16If I had to go and do it all on my own, no, I couldn't afford it, no.
00:21So me, epilepsy would suffer because I just couldn't afford to go and see the doctor as well as pay for the medication.
00:29The Hullerans are not alone.
00:31A wellbeing survey by the Greater Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue found access to health care is residents' number one concern.
00:39We need to make sure that GP services are affordable for people in Western Sydney.
00:43We need to make sure that there's enough GPs to go around to meet growing demand.
00:47The Hullerans' doctor, Ken McCrory, agreed to keep bulk billing the couple, but says relying on individual doctors isn't sustainable.
00:56To keep a GP practice open these days costs a hell of a lot more than Medicare from the 1970s rebates us for.
01:03Just in my region alone we've had 30 practices close in the last year.
01:08Census data shows more than half of the people in Sydney with diabetes live in the west.
01:14The number of hospitalisations from preventable illnesses is also much higher in places like Campbelltown when compared to inner city suburbs.
01:23And the vast majority of GP appointments are bulk billed.
01:27With the state budget looming, the Hullerans hope for more security.
01:31For something like access to bulk billing to become unavailable to us would certainly impact us.
01:38Until then, they rely on people like Dr McCrory to keep them healthy.