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General News

28 December, 2023

Talbot GP returns in 2024

In massive boost to the town’s healthcare, Dr Jim Sharples has returned to Talbot in partnership with Talbot Action Inc (TAI) after almost a year without a doctor clinic in the town. Dr Sharples was most recently with the Central Highland Health...

By Maryborough Advertiser

A GP will be returning to 40 Scandinavian Crescent in Talbot, with Dr Jim Sharples returning.
A GP will be returning to 40 Scandinavian Crescent in Talbot, with Dr Jim Sharples returning.

In massive boost to the town’s healthcare, Dr Jim Sharples has returned to Talbot in partnership with Talbot Action Inc (TAI) after almost a year without a doctor clinic in the town.

Dr Sharples was most recently with the Central Highland Health Network’s (CHHN) Avoca clinic on Liebig Street, which he opened four months ago alongside Dr Michael Veal, bringing a medical service to the town since the closure of the Tristar Clinic in May 2022.

However the relationship fell apart due to differences in managing the facilities, leading to Dr Sharples departure from the clinic.

Dr Sharples originally left his clinic in Talbot on February 17, 2023 after five years due to increased costs, staffing difficulties and the inability to add additional services to the facility at the time.

However, under the new agreement, Dr Sharples is confident his new office on 40 Scandinavian Crescent will be a more viable venue in bringing a wide range of medical practitioners and allied health professionals to the town.

“TAI and the Central Goldfields Shire Council (CGSC) reached out last Tuesday after the dreadful news of (leaving CHHN) on Monday,” he said.

“After discussion of what I would require to consider returning to Scandinavian Crescent, we reached agreement on those terms and come to a compromise of my additional space requirements on Saturday,December 23, after some immediately rapid work by the TAI and CGSC.

“I have already been in discussions with (practitioners and professionals) with the Avoca site in mind, and will talk about the Talbot space to those same people once I can review and outfit the back space, hopefully later this year.”

The current plan for the agreement is have the medical centre open for the next five years with doors being opened on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.

TAI vice president Graham Miller was the first person to reach out to Dr Sharples about the possibility of returning to Talbot and is delighted to see him back.

“We emailed him and suggested that he might like a return to Talbot and over the next couple of days we were able to put together a package that provided him with extra security over what we have been able to offer in the past so he decided to come and lease the premisses,” he said.

“It is an outstanding achievement for the community to be able to have a doctor operating again, it will relieve the pressure on the many patients that have to travel up to Maryborough and provide medical services.

“Dr Sharples will have independent control on how he aims to increase the range of services on offer at the clinic.

“I would like to thank the hard working TAI committee who put in many hours of work, to Dr Sharples and to councillor Chris Meddows-Taylor who helped us through the process.”
Cr Meddows-Taylor played a supporting role in ensuring a lease agreement could be reached between TAI and Dr Sharples so quickly, a role he said he embraced to support the needs of the community.

“I was actively involved in trying to facilitate what I knew was a very important community outcome to support both Dr Sharples and TAI,” he said.

“When these things happen, my view is you have to strike when the iron is hot and everyone involved realised that you don’t delay these great opportunities.

“The whole equation at the time (when Dr Sharples left) for additional services just seemed too difficult for both sides as the building was originally set up for very different purposes.”

“I think what has happened now is everyone has looked at the space and gone hang on, lets have a fresh look at this and make this work.”

Cr Meddows-Taylor said he was over the moon to ‘welcome home’ the respected doctor.

“It is fantastic just having another general practice (GP) doctor in our shire — to have a GP who is as well respected as Dr Sharples when we have the GP shortage, which we know we have, is like having gold.”

Small issues will be discussed with council at a later date surrounding the long term aspects of the lease.

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