04/09/2026
Culture can be lost. And it can be rebuilt.
About five years ago, we lost our way at Caringbah Family Practice.
We made some recruitment decisions that, in hindsight, weren't right for our practice. We brought people into the team who didn't share the values or behaviours that had traditionally made CFP such a special place.
Gradually, the culture changed.
The atmosphere became less positive. Some wonderful doctors and staff members chose to leave.
Even our patients noticed.
It was a difficult period, but it was also an enormous wake-up call for us as practice owners.
We realised that a good culture can't be taken for granted. It needs to be deliberately created, nurtured and, sometimes, protected.
We made some big changes.
People who weren't aligned with the culture we wanted to build moved on. We became much more intentional about recruiting people whose values aligned with ours — Care, Respect, Communication and Teamwork.
And we started actively working on our culture rather than simply hoping that a good one would emerge.
It didn't change overnight.
But slowly, something wonderful started happening.
The warmth came back. The laughter came back. People started supporting each other again. The practice began to feel like us again.
Perhaps one of the greatest compliments has been seeing people who left during that difficult period wanting to come back.
Two of our receptionists who left during those years have now returned — and they've brought other wonderful, positive people with them.
When one of them recently walked back into CFP for the first time in four years, she told me that she could immediately feel the positive energy was back.
And today, one of our patients recognised her at reception.
"Oh, you're back!"
She then said something that really stayed with me.
She remembered when the practice used to feel like a family. She said there had been a period when it didn't feel that way anymore and wasn't as nice to visit.
"But now it feels like family again."
As a practice owner, I'm not sure there could be a better compliment.
One of the biggest lessons I've learnt through all of this is that culture isn't a "nice to have".
It affects your team.
It affects whether good people stay.
And ultimately, patients feel it too.
We've worked incredibly hard to rebuild the culture at CFP, and we will never take it for granted again.
Culture is something worth building — and something worth protecting.
