Health ministers must work together to solve crisis, Mitchell says

IPN, the healthcare company that owns Greenpoint Medical Centre, confirmed it will close the clinic down next month because of difficulty in recruiting doctors.

Greenpoint serves over 8000 patients in the low-income Bridgewater suburb of Hobart and news of its pending closure has already sparked community backlash.

Mr Mitchell, whose Lyons electorate includes Bridgewater, said federal and state politicians had a responsibility to work together on a solution to ensure the clinic stayed open.

"Between them, the two ministers have the resources and authority to fix this, and ensure Bridgewater people don't lose access to GPs," he said.

Mr Barnett last week said he had written to his federal counterpart urging him to take action to ensure the clinic stayed open.

He said primary healthcare was a responsibility of the federal government - "no ifs, no buts".

In an opinion article on Monday, Mr Mitchell said while the Commonwealth-State Health Agreement made clear the federal government took the leading role in primary health care planning and funding, but the state government also played an important role.

But the National Health Reform Agreement states that the Commonwealth has full responsibility for "system management and support, policy and funding for GP and primary health care services".

Mr Mitchell said: "People want politicians to get on with the job, not squabble over whose job it is."

"As Tasmania's Health Minister, Mr Barnett has a responsibility to play his part in maintaining and improving primary healthcare delivery in the state, without claiming it's a favour to the feds."

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler has been contacted for comment.

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