From Scotland to Tasmania, tiny town welcomes new GP

For the first time in almost a decade, the west coast Tasmanian town of Strahan has a permanent, local doctor.

The town's clinic, owned by Ochre Health, had been reliant on visiting general practitioners since 2017.

But a couple of months ago, Dr Cathy Welch packed up her life in remote Scotland and made the permanent move to Strahan.

Her decision is a boon for Strahan, but it is not the only town in Tasmania, or even on the state's west coast, that has struggled to attract a permanent GP in recent years.

Explaining 'whole life story' no longer an issue

Nicole Rasmussen owns a takeaway food shop in Strahan.

She said Strahan had been "lucky" with the locum doctors who have been visiting the clinic in recent years.

But, she said, without a permanent GP, residents often needed to repeat their medical history each time a new visiting doctor arrived at the clinic.

"You can go any day and you're explaining your whole life story again just to deal with the sore finger that day," Ms Rasmussen said.

She also said Strahan residents suffered if they had complex health needs, which could often not be managed in town.

Ms Rasmussen once needed to drop everything and drive herself two-and-a-half hours to hospital in Burnie for a possible blood clot.

But she arrived only to be told that it was a false alarm.

She said in the past new parents and young families had struggled, as mothers needed to leave town to give birth and at the other end of the age spectrum, elderly patients also needed to be able to rely on their doctor knowing them and their health history.

Rural residents' health can suffer without permanent GP, doctor says

After completing her GP training in 2009, Dr Welch worked across a range of urban and rural practices in the north east of Scotland and later served as part of a medical team at the hospital on the Falkland Islands.

She said the lack of a permanent local doctor can worsen medical outcomes in small towns, particularly for people who have complex or embarrassing conditions.

"Having to repeat your story over and over again is hard," she said.

"So, some people just avoid doing that.

She said being based in Strahan means she will learn about the community in ways that will allow her to ask better questions and provide better medical care.

"In smaller communities, that continuity from the doctor's side enables you to see those connections that somebody who is just coming in and out can't see," Dr Welch said.

"It's really important to have the opportunity to learn the right questions to ask, which you can only really do when you start to get to know people."

Peak body confident regional doctor shortage will improve

Ochre had been unable to secure a permanent doctor for Strahan despite offering substantial benefits, including a house and car on top of the $300,000 plus a GP could earn running the clinic.

In 2024, the federal government estimated a shortage of around 2,400 GPs around the country, with rural and regional areas bearing the brunt of the scarcity.

But Dr Toby Gardner, Tasmanian chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), believes the tide is turning as targeted training for GPs and incentives for their placement in rural areas improve.

"We've actively grown our workforce, and the RACGP is training more GP registrars than we ever have before."

Dr Gardner said he is confident that over the next decade the shortage will have narrowed dramatically.