Doctors Concerned Over GP Assist Closure

The imminent closure of the GP Assist program is causing consternation over delivery of health services.

Doctors’ body AMA said: “GP Assist is not just a phone line — it’s a critical clinical safety net, trusted by aged care homes, rural hospitals and GPs. Ending it creates a dangerous vacuum in after-hours care.”

Tasmanian Labor made an election promise to transform GP Assist into TassieDoc 24/7 to give the Tasmanian public and other medical professionals after hours access to a GP via telehealth.

Their statements are reproduced below.

Media release – AMA Tasmania Vice-President Dr Meg Creely, 17 July 2025

CLOSING GP ASSIST POSES RISKS FOR PATIENT CARE

The AMA is alarmed at the decision by the current provider to stop GP Assist at the end of this month.

Our members are deeply concerned this will risk leaving rural hospitals, aged care facilities, and vulnerable patients without critical after-hours local medical support — this isn’t just a funding issue, it’s a patient safety issue.

GP Assist is a locally embedded service, built by Tasmanians for Tasmanians — replacing it with a generic national call centre model won’t deliver the same continuity or quality of care.

GP Assist offers something 1800 MEDICARE cannot — a direct link to on-call Tasmanian general practitioners, who understand our health system, our geography, and our patients.

While the federal 1800 MEDICARE service may have merit in some contexts, it is not fit for purpose in Tasmania’s tightly integrated, regionally stretched system — and it will not safely fill the gaps left by GP Assist.

Replacing GP Assist with an untested model will invariably put pressure on already overstretched emergency departments, burns out rural doctors, and leaves aged care homes dangerously unsupported overnight.

We’re seeing announcements left, right and centre of new State-funded GP clinics with no consultation and no staff to run them — meanwhile, a proven, effective, fully staffed service like GP Assist is being abandoned. This is the wrong way to invest taxpayer money.

GP Assist is not just a phone line — it’s a critical clinical safety net, trusted by aged care homes, rural hospitals and GPs. Ending it creates a dangerous vacuum in after-hours care.

We urge the federal government to provide immediate support to keep GP Assist operating through a new operator and work with clinicians, Primary Health Tasmania and the GP Assist team to deliver a tailored and sustainable Tasmanian solution, rather than a one-size-won’t-fit-all model.

Dean Winter MP, Labor Leader, 15 July 2025

Media release – TassieDoc 24/7: A Fresh Start for health in Tasmania

A Dean Winter Labor Government will rescue a critical after-hours telehealth service from closure and enhance it to create TassieDoc 24/7.

TassieDoc 24/7 will supplement Labor’s 10, 100% free regular doctors clinics across the state, giving the Tasmanian public and other medical professionals afterhours access to a GP via telehealth.

The long-running GP Assist service is set close at the end of this month without government intervention.

It provides after-hours GP telehealth coverage for the general public, as well as rural hospitals, nursing homes and palliative care.

Labor will step in and rescue this service, helping it run in its current capacity for the next six months before it transitions to TassieDoc 24/7 from February 1 next year.

Based on a successful model from Victoria, TassieDoc 24/7 will see GP Assist enhanced by upgrading the technology used by participating doctors and enabling them to deliver more advanced care.

By helping Tasmanians access a GP after hours, it takes enormous strain off already overloaded emergency departments, and helps rural GPs to avoid burnout.

According to Primary Health Tasmania, the GP Assist service kept more than 11,000 people out of EDs last year.

After 11 years of the Liberals, Tasmanians are finding it harder than ever to get the healthcare they need, when they need it.

It’s time for a fresh start, and the best way to change the government is to vote Labor.

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