The clinic has been offered for the past five years in schools, providing paediatric services for free through Medicare bulk-billing, with a multi-disciplinary approach supporting students’ health, wellbeing and education.
It was set up in 2022 after paediatrician Dr Peter Eastaugh, who used to visit select schools in Shepparton and Mooroopna to work with children who had complex health conditions, retired.
Local paediatrcian Dr Herath Wataliyadda, who has been in Shepparton since 2018, said Dr Eastaugh’s clinic wasn’t run on a regular basis, but he had gathered more than 300 patients and had been looking for someone to take over their care from him.
Dr Wataliyadda put her hand up to fill the gap, but it’s been largely a passion project for her, with her past half-decade of service running her business at an estimated $1 million loss.
She said the model would be feasible if it were funded, but the service was now running beyond the capacity of a single paediatrician.
“It’s impossible for a single person to look after 1400 patients,” she said.
“We really wanted to continue the services, so we wanted the services of another paediatrician, but we cannot get hold of another one because it’s not a paid position.
“This job does not attract any perks or anything that is given to the health sector workers; it doesn’t have any annual leave, sick pay, superannuation, long service leave, nothing, and it is very difficult.
“There were a couple of paediatricians who were interested, but we can’t compete against what the hospital is offering.”
Dr Wataliyadda said the “neighbourhood” of schools — which includes Mooroopna Primary School, Mooroopna Park Primary School, Mooroopna North Primary School, and Shepparton’s St George’s Road Primary School, Wilmot Road Primary School, Gowrie Street Primary School, Banmira Specialist School and Greater Shepparton Secondary College — collectively put money into a fund that paid for an administration worker to support the paediatrician.
With 1400 students on the books, the administrative side is also under immense pressure.
Dr Wataliyadda has called on the Victorian Department of Education “multiple times” to employ more staff.
In mid-2025, she made the decision to pull the pin on the service this year, on December 31, if funding couldn’t be secured.
“I know that it is a workable model; all we need is a little bit of support and a bit of funding to pay the paediatricians for their service,” she said.
“Had the authorities taken this seriously and done their bits like they should have done when they could have done something, we could have saved the clinic.”
She said it was a sad situation, as disadvantaged kids would be left without essential care.
“Those who can afford to will come to the private sector... they will travel to another city to see a paediatrician,” Dr Wataliyadda said.
“But the lower socio-economic families are going to suffer the most.”
A Mooroopna Primary School parent said she depended on Dr Wataliyadda’s services for her two neurodivergent children.
“It has been the only thing accessible to my children and so many others as the hospital paediatricians have extensive waitlists and paediatricians are really scarce,” the mother said.
“I’m extremely concerned where this is going to leave hundreds of children in the GV region.
“A lot of parents, especially with multiple children who need paediatricians, cannot afford to go private.”
The News contacted the Department of Education for a response.
“The schools highly value the Neighbourhood School Paediatric Clinic,” its statement said.
“A committee is actively working with community stakeholders to retain this service into the future.”
