MANILLA doctor Geoff White has been recognised for giving 35 years of medical service to the small community.
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Dr White was presented with an award by the NSW Rural Doctors Network at the Rural GPs conference in Sydney recently, honouring his medical career which started as a locum back in 1981.
The long-serving doctor is now winding down his work, but he’s seen the Manilla GP workforce almost double in his time.
Dr White – originally from Melbourne – said “the wide variety of work, strong ties to the community and friendships made” were all factors in his lengthy service to Manilla, but credited his wife, Brenda, for being the main reason for staying rural.
The GP said the job had changed over the decades as Tamworth grew into a larger medical centre.
“There used to be a very wide scope of practice, which has now narrowed for the better,” Dr White said.
While he acknowledged the growth in Manilla’s medical services, Dr White said they were not “winning the fight to get more procedural doctors to places such as Moree and Narrabri”.
Dr White’s suggested cure for small, rural medical workforces in the region was exposing more young doctors to life and practice on the other side of the Liverpool Range.
The Manilla GP said recognition for long-term service was good for rural-based doctors and encouraged practices in Tamworth to nominate doctors and health staff who may be approaching service milestones.