Tamworth Regional Council: doctor shortage concerns council as it lobbies to change Medicare Provider Number system

The city's ophthalmology services could be cut in half as the Medicare Provider Number (MPN) system doesn't consider Tamworth as a district with a workforce shortage.

The federal government uses postcodes to allocate an MPN, but doesn't take into account the thousands of rural patients that travel to get checked, TRC councillor Juanita Wilson said.

"Our postcode doesn't include Attunga, Nundle, Barraba or Bendemeer, Moree or Narrabri, all the areas where the ophthalmologists here in Tamworth work," she said.

"In Sydney if there's a suburb with a postcode and no ophthalmologist they are deemed an area of need despite the fact there's an eye hospital next to that office."

Cr Wilson pointed out that some patients drive hours to visit the Tamworth service, or vice versa.

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The council will make a submission to the National General Assembly to lobby to change the system.

A review of how workforce shortage areas are determined is one of the council's demands, given the current system "does not adequately take into consideration the way specialist services are delivered in regional and rural areas".

It argues regional areas service a much larger district than just the postcode, meaning local eye doctors estimate they provide services to a population of 220,000 across the New England North West.

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