The inability of the previous Liberal State Government to adequately staff regional hospitals with doctors over the past four years is one of the regrets of re-elected Member for MacKillop Nick McBride.

Doctor shortages in hospitals have been causing problems across his electorate at Millicent, Naracoorte and Keith.

“I know there is hesitation around doctors fulfilling those roles in local hospitals,” Mr McBride said.

“The local Millicent hospital back in the early 2000s used to have obstetrics, surgery, two anaesthetists and surgeons and used to outperform the Mount Gambier hospital.

“Now it is just a shadow of its former self.

“The Medical Clinic Millicent used to be well engaged in the local hospital and they used to work collaboratively together to be a massive and successful medical precinct.

“Today, the Millicent doctors are in the clinic in Short Street.

“It is hard to get doctors into Millicent and probably every other clinic in regional South Australia.”

Mr McBride said there was a locum doctor system in the Millicent hospital.

“We were not able to finish it or complete it or get it changed in the four years in office,” he said.

“As I say, nothing happens quickly in this area and that is a fait accompli.

“It is unfortunate that we could not address it and get it solved before we were no longer in government.

“But we do need to solve it and we do need to get medical specialists, like doctors and GPs, into our regions because it is going to be another reason why we will not get the population and populace into our regions.”