The Greater Fleurieu Medical Centre is closing its Yankalilla surgery from July 15 due to a lack of doctors.

Practice management says the closure is due to an unexpected doctor resignation and “an inability to obtain further doctors to rural area”.

As the Fleurieu App reported last week, birthing services on Kangaroo Island are currently temporarily suspended, also because of the difficulty in recruiting medical staff to the area.

The Greater Fleurieu Medical Centre has asked people to be kind to their staff during the “difficult transition”.

Patient records will be transferred to the Dyson Road Medical Centre in Christies Beach or requests can be made for them to be sent to another health provide and be uploaded to myhealth.gov.au. 

The President of the Rural Doctors' Association of South Australia, Peter Rischbieth told ABC Radio this week that workforce shortages are causing issues across the state.

“We are desperate in many of our locations for medical physicians, well-trained and skilled nurses, allied health providers and our midwifery workers, which are a key component in our workforce in rural South Australia," he said.

The one remaining GP practice in Yankalilla, the Southern Fleurieu Health Service is currently advertising for additional doctors.

Elsewhere in the state the Mount Gambier hospital is advertising for a locum GP for work across their emergency department at the rate of $2700 per day to try and cover staff absences.

Wudinna (on the Eyre Peninsula) has been without a GP for months and is now trying to attract medical staff from the UK to take up the position.