Wagga now facing 'high priority' gap in medical services with psychiatrist's departure

Luke Johnson's patients have had to seek alternative treatment after he recently stopped practising, the Riverina Medical Specialist Recruitment and Retention Committee has confirmed.

Committee chairman Nick Stephenson said the group was now looking to attract another psychiatrist to the city as a matter of "high priority".

"We will be doing all we can, which includes advertising, to try and entice a psychiatrist to move here and settle here full time to live and work in Wagga and the Riverina," Professor Stephenson said.

"It's not as big a gap as we have faced. But it is a gap. And the fact that it happened so suddenly makes it difficult."

Professor Stephenson cautioned against being alarmist and said Wagga had been in worse situations, referring to a time "about 10 years ago" when the city had no resident psychiatrists at all.

Wagga is now home to just one private psychiatrist who spends part of his time in Canberra, as well as one public psychiatrist who recently finished his training and will work between the Base Hospital and Community Mental Health Services.

Fly-in-fly-out doctors still provide the majority of Wagga's psychiatric care.

Professor Stephenson said Doctor Johnson stopped practising within the last two months, meaning his patients have had to find alternative care.

"My understanding is they've gone back to their GPs and then ... if the GP can't manage it, being forwarded on to Community Mental Health Services and/or [the part-time private psychiatrist]," he said.

Professor Stephenson said telehealth psychiatric services could fill a gap for Wagga mental health consumers "in the short term".

"But obviously we don't see that as a long term solution," he said.

He said it was impossible to know how long it would take to recruit a new psychiatrist to the city.

"There's no doubt throughout Australia there is a maldistribution of doctors of any type, pretty much," he said.

"It's one of the reasons we have our committee, because we need to be proactive ... unfortunately that's the way it is in Australia."

The Daily Advertiser contacted the Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network for a comment on Dr Johnson's departure.

A spokesperson said the MPHN "provides a range of mental health services and work across the region to meet emerging health needs and service gaps".

"MPHN also co-funds a GP Psychiatry Support Line, which provides GPs with access to a psychiatrist to support them in their ongoing management of patients with mental health conditions," they said.

Luke Johnson was contacted for comment.

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