In the heart of the bush, a small town's rallying cry is echoing louder than ever as upset residents escalate their call for adequate healthcare coverage.
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The concerned residents of Barraba have gathered 1000 signatures for a petition to get a new doctor to after the town's only dedicated general practitioner (GP) left in August.
The community presented the petition to their local member of Parliament last week, who said the 1000-signature petition was an impressive feat for a town with a population of around 1400 people.
"Barraba has been without a doctor for some time, and there's been a concerted effort by everybody to try to attract a new doctor to the town," Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson said to the Leader after receiving the petition.
An ongoing shortage of general practitioners (GPs) has left many communities like Barraba without proper access to medical attention, with many people forced to choose whether to travel to a larger regional centre, or put off medical appointments.
The Barraba Medical Centre closed its doors in August due to being unable to secure the services of a GP, leaving residents devastated.
"It's a very big issue for Barraba to not have a doctor. It's an ageing population and now people have to travel. It's unacceptable that they have to do that," Mr Anderson said.
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The closure of the medical centre means Barraba's Multi-Purpose Service (MPS) is the only healthcare provider in town still open.
A spokesperson for Hunter New England Health told the Leader the public health provider has recently finalised arrangements to rent space in Barraba MPS to a GP, "who is now providing primary care on-site and via telehealth".
However, the GP is only available to provide face-to-face appointments one day per month to the MPS and many of the town's older residents find it difficult to navigate telehealth appointments via phone or video.
Despite this, the spokesperson said Hunter New England Health "encourages the community to continue to present to Barraba Multi-Purpose Service (MPS) for emergency treatment, where they will receive safe and compassionate care," the spokesperson said.
"Barraba MPS continues to be staffed by our highly skilled and dedicated nurses as well as on-demand virtual care provided by Australian-trained emergency physicians."
Without a dedicated GP, residents have to travel either 50 kilometres south to Manilla or 60 kilometres north to Bingara, both of which have practices that are often booked out weeks in advance due to high demand.
The Hunter New England Health spokesperson said securing medical coverage in rural and regional areas was a nation-wide challenge, and that the health provider was exploring "multiple options" to secure local coverage.
But the local community stands firm in its position that much more needs to be done, and their local member has promised to take their petition straight to the top.
"I'll table [the petition] in the NSW Parliament to highlight the concerns of regional centres like Barraba who do not have a doctor," Mr Anderson said.
"This will put the spotlight on every department that has a role to ply in attracting doctors to NSW and highlight to them they need to do more."
The local member said he would "knock on every door that he can" to get a GP into Barraba.
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