Farmer-funded medical centre Korrinup House in Kojonup to increase capacity thanks to Livingston Medical

A “first-class” Wheatbelt medical centre that sits empty for four-and-a-half days a week will soon be used to its full potential as new providers move in. Rural health provider Livingston Medical will move to Korrinup House in Kojonup on June 18, increasing staff ranks to two full-time rural generalists, three to four visiting specialist doctors and extending opening hours to Monday to Friday. The facility is considered a “gem” of the community, its initial grassroots funding coming from the estate of Katanning farmer George Church. Livingston Medical chief executive Rachel Livingston said the centre owners approached the group in April, asking for help following a “prolonged period of restricted medical services”. “As it is, having the facility open only two-and-half days a week with only one GP has taken its toll on the community and the doctor herself,” she said. “There’s currently a three-month waitlist for appointments and as many community members are elderly, they either can’t or don’t want to drive to the next nearest medical centre in Katanning. “We want to make sure the community can be well looked after and we want to keep people in town, as when they leave, they take their business — prescription pick-ups, a shopping trip perhaps — with them. “It’s important for the economy of the town to be able to stay local for appointments.” Korrinup House was the fruit of local farmer George Church’s dream. His $530,000 bequeathal to provide the small town with a medical centre was fulfilled in 2021 after the Federal Government contributed $750,000 to get it off the ground. The $1.4 million medical facility, which contains eight clinical rooms, is considered by Ms Livingston to be “first-class”. “It’s a brilliant first-class centre and when you go in, you would never imagine it would be located somewhere like Kojonup,” she said. “It will be the best one we’ve had in our rural network. “We’re excited to move in as it would be very sad for a centre that has this great capacity not to be full of medical practitioners. “We can ensure the legacy of George Church lives on.”