The Member for Tamworth has kindly passed on your response to my letter regarding doctor shortages in Gunnedah.

It appears from your letter that the Federal Government has a number of incentives designed to attract GP's to regional areas. What remains blatantly clear is that these schemes are not working. The two medical practices in Gunnedah have waiting lists and have closed their books to new patients.

I believe there may now be only six GP's operating in the Gunnedah District servicing around 12,000 residents. The World Health Organisation recommends a minimum ratio of 1 doctor for 1,000 residents.

As a result, increasing numbers of Gunnedah citizens are forced to travel the 160km round trip to Tamworth for basic GP services when we have an excellent twenty first century rural health centre standing largely idle.

As an elderly resident I know that I will be an accident waiting to happen when I am forced to drive to Tamworth when I am feeling unwell.

I therefore vehemently contest your opinion that "we know there are enough doctors being trained in Australia". The core of the problem is that there are not enough young Australians who are able to afford the lengthy period it takes to qualify as a GP. Recruiting doctors from overseas is a cheap evasion of responsibility when there are many talented local students capable of filling the positions.

From my correspondence with the Member for Tamworth and yourself, I am unable to establish clearly which level of government is responsible for the provision of GP's in Gunnedah.

If it is neither, you both need to act. The reason that essential services like education and policing are adequately staffed is that the government is actively involved in recruitment and provides incentives to guarantee supply of personnel.

Community health provision is also an essential service and market forces are clearly not providing adequate numbers of specialist medical professionals in many rural areas. Intervention at government level is urgently required.

The lack of coordination between the federal and NSW Governments has hampered drought relief, bushfire management and responses to the COVID19 epidemic in recent times.

The easy response from different levels of government is to blame each other which achieves nothing.

Rural areas need urgent support in the recruitment of GP's and I urge you and the Member for Tamworth to work together to resolve this crisis as a matter of urgency.

Brian Jeffrey, Gunnedah

The report that Hunter New England Health (HNEH) is taking over Gunnedah Rural Health Centre (Centre) that provided General Practiced Medical Services (GP) for the community is encouraging news for them. However, HNEH Tamworth CEO Susan Heyman said on ABC radio that it was difficult to get GPs to country areas and that announcement was no guarantee that the centre would be staffed.

The Deloitte Access Economics Report GP Workforce 2019 stated that over the next decade there would be a shortage of GPs in the outer suburbs of metropolitan areas. The implications for rural and remote regional (RRR) areas is that the situation is likely to become more difficult. Consequences of absence of health services in RRR is well documented, essentially resulting in reduced life expectancy. The implications are that Tamworth and rural centres west of here will suffer loss of health services from GPs over the next decade or more.

Australia, one of the wealthiest countries of the world in terms of per capita incomes, produces about 1,500 medical graduates a year, with an additional 800 foreign doctors to meet Australian needs. Those 800 doctors come from countries such as Pakistan, India, Africa and the Middle East where their services are sorely needed. Australia should graduate about 2,300 medical practitioners a year to meet its needs. Apart from that, it is contended that Australia as a wealthy country has a moral obligation to produce our own medical practitioners sufficient for its requirements, and not take from countries where the need is greater.

There is an opportunity with the expansion of UNE into a Tamworth Campus to expand the School of Rural Medicine using the modern facilities and broader range of services at Tamworth Regional Hospital and the current expertise of local GPs and specialists. The possibility exists to establish post graduate schools in specialty areas related to RRR medicine that would attract and retain medical practitioners that may potentially become a centre for RRR medicine in this country.

From a local economic development point of view, apart from having a reliable water supply, it is well established that people will not move to regional areas where they cannot be assured of reliable health services. UNE is encouraged to have discussions around expanding the Rural School of Medicine in Tamworth now, not next month, or next year, and certainly not the next decade.

Stephen Maher, Tamworth