Doctor eases practice stress

By Ed Merrison
EMERALD doctors received a much-needed morale boost when a fellow GP decided to come back to the Hills last week.
Dr Vassili Lapchine, who left Emerald Medical Centre a month ago to take up a position in Camberwell, has returned and this allows the clinic to reopen its books to new patients.
Practice manager Carol Johansson said the news had delighted patients and relieved some of the stress on doctors.
“It had become policy not to accept new patients as we were not able to cater for them. We’ve now opened the books to new patients again which is fantastic,” she said.
“The patients are absolutely rapt. They can’t believe it. (Dr Lapchine) has phoned to let them know and they’re absolutely thrilled to bits.”
Dr Lapchine decided to return to Emerald due to an overwhelming response from patients, to whom he apologised for any distress his brief departure had caused.
Dr Lapchine, who has been at the practice for seven years and had switched to part-time hours before he left, has resumed in a full-time capacity.
He said his patients had been extremely supportive and made him feel valued.
“I’ve come back because it’s a good practice, a good place to work and a good community to work for,” he said.
The loss of Dr Lapchine had deepened what many already considered to be a crisis in the region.
Staff at Emerald Medical Centre, Belgrave SurgiCentre and the Eastern Region GP Association (ERGPA) believe the crisis can only be solved when the Hills have their classification changed to Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Area (RRMA) rating.
The region is classified RRMA 1, the same metropolitan rating that applies to Richmond or Toorak.
Doctors would like to see this changed to a RRMA 5.
“That will widen the pool of overseas-trained doctors we can choose from,” Ms Johansson said. “At the moment there are almost none.”
The overseas-trained doctor lined up as Dr Lapchine’s replacement ended up going to a rural area instead, as if to highlight the region’s disadvantage.
The clinic has discussed the RRMA rating with the office of Health Minister Tony Abbott and with La Trobe MP Jason Wood, who is determined to change it.
The Emerald Medical Centre still needs another doctor even with Dr Lapchine back on board and Ms Johansson said a change to the rating was its only hope.
“Unless it happens I don’t think there’s any hope of getting another doctor at all – not in the next three years, anyway,” she said.