Cloncurry's medical services are suffering because of an automatic administrative change affecting doctors' rates of pay and the ability of its medical providers to attract personnel.
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Cloncurry's medical classification is determined by the Modified Monash Model which has changed the town from "very remote" to "remote".
The classification of "remote" which kicked in at the start of this year means that doctors in the town are being paid less and it is therefore harder to attract staff.
Ramsay Street General Practice owner Dr Leonie Fromberg said the federal department of health classed the town as "remote" years ago but a working party was formed which found Cloncurry did not fit that bill because it did not have the same facilities as Mount Isa and as a result Cloncurry was effectively re-classified as "very remote".
"But they've changed the modelling this year at the flick of a switch and all of our doctors dropped an incentive payment and no-one was notified," Dr Fromberg said.
Dr Fromberg said the situation had put her at loggerheads with Mount Isa which is also classed as "remote".
"It has affected my ability to get locums to work out here because they are saying, 'why would I work at Cloncurry where it is harder when I could work in Mount Isa'," she said.
"I've lost the little enticer I had up my sleeve."
Dr Fromberg said she had worked in Cloncurry for nearly a decade and what annoyed her the most about the situation was they were always punching out good registrars, many of whom stay in remote areas.
"This shows the federal government is not really serious about supporting very remote areas like Cloncurry," she said.
Dr Fromberg said she has raised the matter with the department of health who told her none of the very remote classifications had changed.
"No one can explain to me exactly what statistic we're facing that would make us the same as Mount Isa, there's a huge population difference," she said.
A spokesperson for the federal department of health said the Modified Monash Model status of Cloncurry had not changed since 2015 when it was classified as MM 6 (remote).
"In 2016, the then Minister for Health approved a time limited exception being extended to Cloncurry, granting it MM-7 (very remote) like status to allow it access to higher General Practice Rural Incentives Program incentive payments," the spokesperson said.
"This was to continue until a review of the MMM was complete. The MMM was updated in 2019 using the latest ABS Census data (2016). Under this update, Cloncurry remains an MM06 area."
The spokesperson said that on January 1, 2020, the GPRIP was replaced by the Workforce Incentive Program - Doctor Stream, and transitioned to use the updated MMM 2019.
"During this transition, Cloncurry's incentives reverted to their correct MM-6 level," the spokesperson said.
"The implementation of the WIP and the MMM 2019 was planned for July 2019, but was delayed until the beginning of 2020 in order to give practices and practitioners more time to adjust to the changes.
"In October 2019, all participants of the GPRIP were sent a letter providing information about the transition to the Workforce Incentive Program - Doctor Stream. Regular updates on the implementation on the WIP were provided to general practices, including through Services Australia's Incentive News Update."
Kennedy MP Bob Katter said he was fighting to get Cloncurry reclassified as "very remote" saying it was likely knocked down to "remote" as an automated result of rezoning by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
"A few meters past the hospital, which is located on the outskirts of town, the classification returns to very remote," Mr Katter said.
Mr Katter said he would call the Federal Health Minister to plead Cloncurry's case to be put on the "very remote list", but said it was another example of an LNP Government overseeing the death and decline of regional Australia.
"Cloncurry is a thousand kilometres from Townsville and from specialist medical assistance. Now if Cloncurry isn't very remote I don't know what could be considered very remote. If you head east, you are getting closer to Darwin, if you head south you're getting closer to Adelaide," he said.
"So here is another example of why I say the LNP have overseen the greatest decline in regional Australia in the country's history.
"This is a public service decision and I will be speaking with the Federal Minister for Health, Greg Hunt on this immediately. Greg has been pretty reasonable to date so I am guardedly hopeful."
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