Bridging the gap

After witnessing the negative impacts that the transience of General Practitioners (GP) had on the Mackay community, Dr Kate Bialy wanted to bridge the primary care gap. 

In 2019, Dr Bialy fellowed from GP training and began working at a clinic in Mackay.             

“My husband and I wanted to go where we could be of the most help, and we noticed there was high transience and turnover of people in the medical sphere here,” she said. “When it comes to continuity of care in medicine high turnover creates a huge gap. 

“I started working at Health on Central in Mackay essentially as soon as I fellowed from GP Training.” 

Five years later, Kate continues to make a positive impact on the health outcomes of her patients at Health on Central. 

Dr Bialy said, providing primary healthcare services to the Mackay community is extremely rewarding.       

“Being able to practise as a GP is a lifelong dream of mine,” Kate said. “Working as a GP in a regional town is extremely rewarding; seeing my patient’s health improve is the biggest highlight.” 

“If you are keen to make a difference in a big way to a small community, it’s very easy to do that in regional medicine.” 

Providing continuity of care to her patients is the number one priority for Dr Kate Bialy. 

“After practising as a GP in a regional town for a long time, you develop close relationships with your patients,” she said. “I’ve got some really beautiful patients of all ages from babies through to older patients. 

“I love seeing families grow and being able to provide continuity of care.” 

As a GP, Kate has the freedom and flexibility to adapt her work schedule to suit her young family and maintain a good work-life balance. 

“I love the autonomy that I have to essentially choose my hours,” Dr Bialy said. “I can craft that into what works best for me and my family. 

“I love what I do, it’s really meaningful and my family mean everything to me so being able to create that work-life balance is so important.” 

Mackay is the perfect fit for Bialy and her family. 

“I really like living in Mackay,” Kate said. “It’s not too big and it has everything that we need.” 

“We have built a really beautiful community in Mackay.”  

Exploring the picturesque Mackay region is one of her favourite pastimes.   

“I love the outdoors, the beaches, and there are plenty of camping spots nearby,” she said. 

One of the things Kate loves about Mackay is the sense of community and the lifelong friendships she has made. 

“We don’t have any family here, but we are surrounded by people who love and care for us,” Bialy said. 

“When I had my baby, there was a meal roster and people would bring us dinner twice a week for the six weeks after she was born.  

“We visited family and friends living in the South East corner around Christmas time and chatted to them about their community, and they don’t have what we have here.  

“I feel so blessed to have them.”