Significant investment will seep into local healthcare following the rural and regional health inquiry that revealed the current conditions were inadequate to serve the population. 

Out of a new $98.3 million that was invested into supporting frontline health workers and improving services in regional NSW, $30 million will go to attracting and retaining health care workers in the bush. 

In the Western Plains, GP and nurse numbers have continuously fluctuated, making staff shortages commonplace and the reliance on locum staff overwhelming.

New measures introduced in the funding include the reduction or elimination of Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) debt for junior doctors who choose to work in a rural or remote location. 

President of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) Megan Belot said this incentive will be crucial to building staff numbers in rural healthcare. 

“These years are critical to the career decisions they will make going forward, as we know that many doctors who only intend to come to a rural area for a short time get hooked on rural medicine,” Dr Belot said. 

The Government has also announced that telehealth services - remote access to doctors, which became prominent during Covid-19 - will become a permanent feature of primary health care." 

For some, the decision has been a welcome initiative for healthcare in the bush. 

“Distance is a barrier for so many of our rural patients who put off appointments, especially the routine ones that don’t seem important but could really save someone’s life,” Dr Belot said. 

“Making telehealth accessible into the future will continue to make it easier for rural and remote patients to access care, and this can only help us to bridge the gap between the health outcomes of people in the bush and those in the cities,” she said. 

While the access is welcome, there are also concerns that their permanency could become an alternative to in-person doctors, and a sign of the gradual retreat of attention to local staff shortages. 

According to the Western NSW Primary Health Network, the nurse-led model that has been implemented, supported by remote telehealth medical support, has presented significant patient safety issues.

In their evidence submitted to the inquiry, they note that the model was designed for healthcare in remote Northern Territory and Western Queensland, but that the parameters aren’t suitable for Western New South Wales. 

Member for Barwon Roy Butler said that while the new funding is a step in the right direction to tackle the chronic short staffing issues and lift the standards of health in the bush, telehealth permanency shouldn’t be seen as the fix.

“Telehealth doctors cannot physically save a life, to rely on them to do so via a computer screen should be seen as an unacceptable and risky practice by NSW Health and immediately addressed,” Mr Barwon said. 

“I do not object to telehealth models being a part of health care services in Rural, Regional and Remote NSW, however they can never be a replacement for in-person care,” Mr Barwon said. 

Amongst the funding, $23 million will also be directed at transport for regional patients needing to travel longer distances, and a new online tool to navigate local services. 

The inquiry is still ongoing, with findings set to be released in early 2022.