Like many areas around Tas­mania, members of the Brigh­ton community experience diffi­culty accessing GPs. The future is looking somewhat brighter, thanks to plans for the Brighton Regional Doctors team.

Dr Mary Lumsden is a local GP who opened Brighton Regional Doctors GP clinic in 2019 and has practised in the Brighton area since 2014. “I want to reas­sure our patients and the com­munity that Brighton Regional Doctors is not going anywhere,” she says. “My practice is for­tunate to be in a position to be planning for the future here in the Brighton community.”

“We have a new doctor joining us at the end of October,” she said. “Even with the limited extra capacity for new patients this additional GP will provide, we’re aware there is significant local unmet healthcare need, which is why we’re very eager to ensure we can see our new clinic come to fruition.”

With the assistance of Brighton Council, Dr Lumsden has iden­tified a site to build this new medical clinic. A development application for the new site has been approved, building plans are being further developed and the project is going to tender for the construction phase.

Federal Lyons MP Brian Mitch­ell secured $1.5 million as an election commitment to assist in the development of the new clinic. “Brighton is growing and needs more medical services,” he said.

It’s expected the clinic will com­mence operation in early 2024. It will be a state-of-the-art clinic with 12 GP rooms, pathol­ogy services and allied health providers. It will also train new clinicians, Dr Lumsden said.

“We pride ourselves on being a training practice committed to mentoring and developing GP registrars and new doctors who will want to stay in our area and provide high quality care for our patients.”