HUNTER emergency staff say they are already "run off their feet" but a reduction in local after-hours GP services will make it "much worse".
An emergency department doctor told the Newcastle Herald that staff were concerned about how they would cope once GP Access After Hours reduces its hours of operation and closes its Calvary Mater clinic at the end of the year.
"I really don't know how we'll manage," the doctor said. "The end result is that it will be the public that suffers and our staff will be under even more pressure than they already are and it's unsustainable."
A nurse that works in a Hunter hospital emergency department agreed, calling it a "no brainer" that cuts to GP Access would further impact an "already strained system".
"We are already so busy," she said. "Another big concern is our staffing numbers, which are being impacted by COVID exposures or being close contacts - whether it be from work or the community. It can wipe a staff member out for 14 days, which leaves others to pick up more shifts or be forced to stay back back to do overtime. We are feeling overwhelmed as it is."
The Calvary Mater GP Access clinic is set to close on Christmas eve, while the hours at the remaining four clinics will be reduced due to a drop in funding. Weekend hours at the Toronto and Belmont clinics will be halved.
Hunter Primary Care chief, Brenda Ryan, previously told the Herald the remaining GP Access clinics would be stretched. Once the service's available appointments were filled within the new operating times, people would have to access the emergency department or another after hours service.
"We can only see so many people for the amount of time we are open," she said.
While COVID-19 had impacted demand for the service, they "fully expect" that activity to resume to near-normal levels now that lockdown is over and community sports resume.
GP Access currently has about 190 doctors on its roster, and another 100 staff including nurses and administration staff.
"Our ultimate goal is not to lose any staff," Mrs Ryan said. "They are very valuable, very knowledgeable and they do a great job in the community. We are working closely with affected staff to fairly equitably redeploy them into vacancies across our remaining clinics with the goal of preserving their existing working hours."
But the Herald understands some staff will lose shifts and may have to look for other work.
Dr Annette Carruthers AM, who helped establish the after hours service, said when a GP Access shift was not operating at short notice this month, the usual ED wait of two-to-three hours extended to seven at one of the Hunter's hospitals.
Know more? Email anita.beaumont@newcastleherald.com.au.
