Concerns raised over lack of doctors in Boyup Brook

Emergency patients in a Lower South West town served by just one doctor claim they are facing agonisingly long waits to see a medical professional unless they can drive 35km to the nearest 24-hour hospital. Boyup Brook residents say they are “horrified” at what could happen if they find themselves in a life-threatening crisis while the town’s doctor is not available. The sole professional is based at the Shire of Boyup Brook-run Boyup Brook Medical Service and provides after-hours emergency care at the Boyup Brook Health Service hospital. During times the town’s doctor isn’t available and an incident is not a life-threatening injury, telehealth services are available to connect patients to medical professionals. The next-closest facility to the area for residents is the 24-hour Bridgetown District Hospital, about 35km away, meaning a half-hour drive. Cattle farmer Neil Derrick, who injured his spine this month, leaving him unable to walk, said he felt helpless when his only option was a telehealth phone consultation with a Perth-based doctor. The long-term Boyup Brook local was told the doctor was not available to see him on a Sunday after he was transported by the St John Ambulance service. Mr Derrick said the ordeal left him concerned about the availability of health services for the town in life-threatening situations. “I thought ‘well, what happens if someone has a serious car accident or heart attack and is in a critical condition?’ They come into the hospital and then they have got to take them to Bridgetown,” he said. Mr Derrick said residents were concerned one doctor was not enough for the entire town of nearly 2000 people. “She’s a good doctor, the one we have got here. She’s going to burn out, she can’t keep going like this,” he said. “We have got a hospital here but if we don’t have a doctor on weekends there are lives at risk. “If someone has a serious car accident (and) they haven’t got a doctor here, people could die.” Mr Derrick was also told he would have to wait two weeks for his follow-up appointment with the local professional. The WA Country Health Service was contacted about Mr Derrick’s concerns, but the regional branch of the Health Department told The Times the staffing issue fell to the Shire. Shire president Richard Walker was unable to provide comment on the issue by the time of print, but earlier this month he indicated the Shire understood the need for another doctor. When Boyup Brook councillors adopted the 2021-22 budget, Cr Walker said population growth was needed to secure a second doctor for the farming town. “Well at the moment, yes we have only got the one doctor. We have been getting a locum in to assist now and then, but yes, we need to get another doctor,” he said. “I know we have been successful in bringing people from the metropolitan area to the rural area where they are required to do certain amounts of time in country areas, but we need to find doctors that are keen to stay in the rural area.”