That is according to Mark Coulton, the federal Minister for Regional Health.

The Parkes MP sat down with The Daily Advertiser to discuss some of the most prevalent issues facing areas such as the Riverina when it comes to accessing vital services.

As 2020 comes to a close, mental health has been a central talking point as regional areas recover from drought, bushfires and a pandemic.

Mr Coulton said mental health is a complex issue, and often governments can make the "mistake" of saying "we're putting X amount of dollars here, so we have fixed the problem".

He added it is always more complicated but added the federal government was putting funding into areas to try and combat the problem. "We've put a lot of Headspace [centres] into a lot of regions now," Mr Coulton said.

"Once upon a time, Headspace would only go out into a town of a population of more than 20,000. Now we have a different model."

Mr Coulton said some of the challenges in tackling mental health are the stigmas attached, and the range of issues from anxiety disorders right through to emergency presentations. But, he said, it does not help the situation to try and blame it on one root cause, referencing "anecdotal stories" during the pandemic of people taking their lives.

"I think we do make a mistake of tying mental health to an episode," Mr Coulton said.

"We've had bushfires, so we need mental health support. We've had a drought, so we need mental health support. There's been an incident at the school, so we need counselling.

"I think that is not doing anyone any favours. I think we need to be very careful we don't just try and hitch mental health issues onto things that happen, rather than understand that it's an underlying issue in any area."

With the coronavirus pandemic forcing social distancing, various health services quickly switched to phone and video call platforms.

But after tragic incidents such as Dawn Trevitt, - who suffered a fatal gastrointestinal bleed at Gulgong Hospital, near Mudgee, which had no doctors on site - concerns have been raised that telehealth is replacing doctors onsite.

But, Mr Coulton said, while the online system is "here to stay", it would not be a replacement for boots on the ground.

"It's got some bonuses, but it's not going to replace - it can never replace - face-to-face," he said.

The regional health minister added that there were attempts to take advantage of the system by setting up "unscrupulous" call centres, but the "permanent telehealth will be different from that".

"It does put a lot more pressure, say, on if you're doing a telehealth consultation in a small regional hospital," Mr Coulton said.

"If you're the nurse in charge, then you need to have the confidence to actually be the person that's actually doing whatever needs to be done. So it can't be seen as a replacement.

"But, it has been successful when you're talking about mental health ... so people in the bush can keep in touch with their mental health counsellor."

When asked about stories of women in the Riverina needing to travel to major cities to access health services, the federal regional health minister said improved access is a priority for him.

Mr Coulton said he had been speaking with Rural Health Commissioner Ruth Stewart about how to ensure better women's health services including training a cohort of doctors with broader skills.

"I think we've got to undo sometimes policies that might have been done with the best of intention over the years that actually haven't served as well," he said.

"There was a push for many years from universities, from the peak bodies that we should specialise ... and bring the patients to where the specialist is and there's no real evidence that gets better outcomes. So being able to have medical professionals in a regional area with obstetrics skills does get better outcomes."

When it comes to addressing these issues, Mr Coulton said one glaring issue stands out - the workforce.

"I think for far too long there's been a feeling from universities to some of the larger hospitals in the metropolitan areas telling young people 'if you go to the bush, it'll kill your career'," he said.

"That's why we are looking at different ways of making regional health work more attractive, recognising what some of the barriers are and going from there."

In line with this, a trial was recently announced in the Murrumbidgee Lower Health District to give junior doctors the experience they need to become rural GPs with additional skills as obstetrics, palliative care or emergency medicine.

It will see up to 20 new doctors trained over four years at Cootamundra, Young, Deniliquin, Temora, Narrandera, Gundagai and the Aboriginal Medical Service in Wagga.

"I think one of the problems we have with health workforce is not so much the job that is on offer, but they are reluctant to move their families and actually take that step," Mr Coulton said.

"So, I think that we've seen a lot of people travelling now because they can't go overseas ... that's a great opportunity for us to really sell the regions as a land of opportunity."

Mr Coulton added that while the pandemic has wreaked havoc it has done "regional Australia a favour" in some ways.

"All of a sudden, people are realising that you can actually live in a country town and be connected to the city or overseas," he said.

"It's safe. The real estate's affordable. We've got a couple of years probably to capitalise on that."

Mr Coulton said sometimes it's a bit frustrating that some of his colleagues are looking for the "silver bullet". He said, however, that the answer is complex, but that does not mean the hunt for solutions should stop.