14 JUNE 2024

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I-Medical has gone into liquidation .

Heather Saxena A MEDICAL corporate that owes GPs tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid locum fees has gone into liquidation , just weeks before it was due to start paying out the money .

The GPs , who were owed between $ 8800 and $ 46,200 each , are now likely to be left empty-handed .

I-Medical Australia was launched last year , opening universal bulk-billing clinics in WA in the rural town of Norseman and city of Kalgoorlie .

Locums were promised $ 2000 a day to staff them .

— Justice Natalie Whitby

NEWS , PAGE 3

But the business quickly unravelled . The clinic in Norseman , a tiny town of 700 people at the gateway of the Nullarbor 700km from Perth , was originally touted as the region ’ s first super clinic .

It was backed with funding from the Shire of Dundas when its agreements with the community ’ s only GP , Dr Graham Rowlands , ended in acrimony after he asked for funding for locum cover .

Dr Rowlands , who had been the town ’ s sole GP for 17 years , told Australian Doctor at the time : “ There was a belief that I was making shitloads of money .”

But when I-Medical Australia ’ s locums arrived last year they were seeing only a handful of patients a

day and soon began to question the clinics ’ viability .

“ When we got there , they had not even done the painting , so the clinic had to be shut for two days ,” Dr Ashley Sood said .

“ The skirting boards were not done for the whole time I was there .

“ There was no treatment bed for the first two-and-a-half weeks . You had to examine patients standing up .”

Dr Sood left after three weeks because she had not been paid .

A few months later , I-Medical Australia director Ashley Yong appointed a restructuring partner to manage $ 500,000 of debts it had accrued .

More than a quarter of the total was owed to locum GPs .

Dr Sood , who was owed $ 14,200 , said news of the corporate ’ s going into liquidation last month was “ disappointing but not unexpected ”.

The Shire of Dundas said it had no plans to re-enter into an MOU with Dr Rowlands .

In an email , his wife , Ruth Riddel told Australian Doctor : “ Graham continues to bulk-bill , but without the support of the shire in housing and financial help for locums it is difficult .

“ As I write this ( 9.30pm ), Graham has just phoned me from Kalgoorlie hospital where he ’ s working on the emergency roster so we can pay our bills and maintain the Norseman clinic .

“ We continue to support the community .”

ANNE BARNETSON

Rachel Fieldhouse SIX months ago , Dr Ernest Wong moved from London to the tiny town of Wudinna , a sixhour drive from Adelaide .

As the town ’ s first permanent GP in two years , locals had welcomed him with a vegetable garden , invitations to social events and a mountain bike for his birthday . The one challenge ? Dating . The Medical Board of Australia rules are clear — doctors should not have intimate relationships with patients .

“ Dating for doctors is one of those things that people do not really talk about ,” Dr Wong tells Australian Doctor .

‘ If you don ’ t have the social aspect , people will leave .’

“ If you ask the people who make the rules , they say they are there for a good reason . “ But finger-wagging is easy when you are not in this situation .”

Recently , he took to social media site Reddit with the simple post : “ How to date as a rural doc if EVERYONE in a 200km radius is your patient ?”

He received more than 40 responses , with people suggesting a GP spin-off of Farmer Wants a Wife . Others said the best idea was finding a local who never needed GP treatment — which seems a little unlikely .

Failing that , other advice included Dr Wong making regular trips to Adelaide , a date demanding a 1100km round trip .

As one respondent noted : “ This does highlight one of the biggest issues with PAGE 5