Nyngan looks for more funding for its Medical Centre as costs creep higher and Bogan Shire Council is forced to divert finances from other priorities.

The Bogan Shire Medical Centre has become a vital part of how the local council helps their community thrive but it's expensive to run says Shire Council general manager Derek Francis.

‘’It costs Council nearly $700,000 a year to run this service for our community but it's essential because it saves locals travel to Dubbo Hospital, a nearly 5 hour round trip.

‘’We have a large mine and also fly-in-fly-out workers need to know they can get help.

"Without this medical centre, people wouldn’t move here so there is also an economic impact on the town for getting new families here.’’

Mr Francis says local councillors remain committed to supporting the crucial local health service.

"We will continue to operate the Bogan Shire Medical Centre, it is a wonderful success story for our small, remote community and our Council," Mr Francis said.

''It has always been fully accredited and is staffed by very dedicated clinical and administrative staff, including two GPs, two nurses, on-site pathology, sonography, Aboriginal health, allied health and visiting specialists.

"The operating costs of the Practice have had to be subsidised by the ratepayers of Bogan Shire since it opened.

"Our elected Council back in 2015 recognised that if we didn’t do something to secure GP services in our community we wouldn’t have any,'' he said.

Bogan Shire General Manager Derek Francis. [IMAGE: Angie White]

However Mr Francis says the strain it places on his council's budget is "fundamentally unfair".

"The ratepayers of Sydney, Tamworth or Dubbo would not accept having to forego other Council services to subsidise the cost of operating a GP Practice," he said.

"In this financial year that subsidy amounts to $668,000.

"Now that might not sound like a big number to a City Council but to put it in context, that is nearly 20% of our total property rates income.

"That’s money that could be used for other Council services – but our community needs a GP Clinic."

 He says the financial demand on council continues to expand.

"Our Medicare billings just cannot cover the cost of employing GPs in this remote location.''

Around 60% of Nyngan's patients are Commonwealth Concession Card holders or pensioners and are bulk billed.

''We have made approaches to State and Federal Governments over the years for funding – with a lot of hard work being put in on our behalf by the team at the National Rural Health Alliance – but we still don’t have a solution.

 "Our community needs and deserves to be able to see a doctor and access other health services locally and Bogan Shire Council intends to do what it takes to keep that situation intact."

Among the options floated by the NRHA and Bogan Shire are a block grant from the federal government which would mean an annual amount paid to top-up the Medicare billing, which they argue are not financially viable for practices in remote areas.

''I understand this will cost the Government money – but in the long run it will actually save them money by keeping people out of the hospital system, which is where they will land up if practices like ours close.''

The facility was opened in 2017 for minor Procedures and the general manager says the Medical Centre caters for Travel Vaccinations, Childhood Immunisations, Chronic Disease Management, Registrations for Closing The Gap, Health Assessments, Diabetes and Asthma, Preventative Health Checks. Family Planning, Antenatal Shared Care, Skin Cancer Checks and WorkCover Management.

Meanwhile the Western District NSW Local Health District says both Nyngan and Warren multi-purpose services are fully operational and continue to serve their communities.

 ''Staffing levels are maintained to deliver safe, high-quality patient care, including emergency, inpatient and Residential Aged-Care services, and the dedicated teams at both facilities continue to do so," a spokesperson said.

"When vacancies occur these are recruited to as needed, with eligible positions supported by incentives such as the Rural Health Workforce Incentive Scheme to attract candidates.'' 

The NSW Minister for Health Ryan Park was in Bathurst, Cowra, and Blayney last week saying his government is making major progress on facilities owned by the NSW Government in Western NSW.

This would be little comfort to the residents of Bogan shire as their council works to shore up the future of their locally-owned GP clinic.