Medical services are set to return to Beachport in July.

The Wattle Range Council has agreed to lease the empty clinic buildings it owns to the Medical Clinic Millicent for an annual payment of $1.

However, practice manager Bronwyn Harker said it will place a “huge strain” on the medical personnel at the Millicent clinic.

Ms Harker said her practice was looking from mid-year to send one doctor to Beachport on two days of each week.

She said the exact start date, the consultation days and times and the identity of the doctors were yet to be determined at this stage along with the level of nursing and administrative support at Beachport.

“These matters are subject to a workload assessment,” Ms Harker said.

The Medical Clinic Millicent currently has eight GPs but this will soon be reduced to only six which is a 40-year low.

One GP is leaving Millicent at the end of this month while another is taking maternity leave.

Ms Harker said the Medical Clinic Millicent was looking to recruit additional doctors and was praying that more GPs would take an interest in rural medicine across the nation.

“We were lucky to have two registrars come to Millicent in 2023 as we were looking at having none … Our two registrars have settled in well,” she said.

Dr David Senior’s Robe-based Limestone Coast Health Unit Trust closed Beachport Medical Services before last Christmas as it could not find doctors to staff it.

Funded by a Federal Government grant, the building is owned by Wattle Range Council and it has charged successive GPs a peppercorn rent over the past 15 years.

The council invited expressions of interest in February from doctors who want to practise at Beachport and the sole response was from the Medical Clinic Millicent.

It has held confidential discussions about leasing the building at its January, February and March monthly meetings as well as at a special council meeting last week.

The successful motion was moved by Councillor David Walshaw and seconded by Cr Richard Cassidy.

Speaking after the meeting, council chief executive Ben Gower said council was pleased the lease negotiations with the Medical Clinic Millicent had been successful.

The lease term is for five years with two rights of renewal of five years and the lease fees originally sought by the council was $3800 per annum plus CPI, but this was discounted to $1 per annum following negotiations between the parties.

The Medical Clinic Millicent will maintain all fixtures, fittings and equipment and pay all utilities including council rates.