Medical clinics closing down 'like dominoes' with new bulk-billing model

Kalbarri's only GP surgery has announced it will close its doors in June due to no longer being financially viable. (ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt: Chris Lewis)

Kalbarri Doctors Surgery has announced it will be closing its doors.

The shock closure comes just under a year after another doctor's surgery temporarily closed in the neighbouring Midwest town of Northampton for similar reasons.

Residents will now have to drive more than 100 kilometres to see a GP.

Residents in the Midwest town of Kalbarri will face at least a two-hour round trip to see a doctor, after the local GP announced it would close in June.

Kalbarri, 570 kilometres north of Perth, is a popular coastal destination for tourists and home to about 1,500 people.

Yesterday, the town's only GP, Kalbarri Doctors Surgery, announced it would close on June 25 after being unable to stay afloat since shifting to a fully bulk-billed model.

It is not the first doctor's clinic to close in the region, with the neighbouring town of Northampton temporarily losing its doctor's surgery last July.

The announcement has come as a shock to residents who are worried about how the community will cope.

The Kalbarri Doctors Surgery will remain open until June 25 to finalise patient appointments. (ABC News: Maren Preuss)

MediBloom previously operated Northampton Doctor's Surgery, which is 100km away from its Kalbarri clinic.

Director Christopher Hamilton said he was "deeply saddened" to close the Kalbarri clinic, but it was no longer financially viable since switching to a fully bulk-billed model.

At the last federal election, the Albanese government pledged to make nine out of 10 GP visits free by the end of the decade.

The surgery had shifted to a fully bulk-billed model. (AAP: Tracey Nearmy)

Mr Hamilton said the model did not account for regional operating costs, which also led to the closure of the Northampton practice.

"For clinics like ours, the available support has not matched the cost of delivering safe, compliant and accessible care in a remote community," he said.

The Northampton clinic was reopened by a different provider in November under a 12-month trial.

"Kalbarri deserves local healthcare. We are deeply saddened that we have reached this point," Mr Hamilton said.

Kalbarri is home to around 1,500 people, about 570km north of Perth. (ABC Midwest Wheatbelt: Chris Lewis)

Panaceum Group operates multiple medical practices further south of Kalbarri in the regional hub of Geraldton.

With the financial backing of the Shire of Northampton, the business has stationed a GP in the town three or four