NSW Minister for Regional Health Bronnie Taylor has said she is willing to discuss ways to improve rural health services in response to Wagga MP Joe McGirr's call for a new department dedicated to the effort.
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Last week Dr McGirr called on the government to consider establishing a new department of rural health after the NSW Parliament's inquiry into health services outcomes and access in the regions.
Dr McGirr suggested the department would focus on recruiting and maintaining a regional health workforce and advocating for regional areas when government decisions were made.
"For example, we're still running into issues with the medical workforce at Tumut," Dr McGirr said.
"Bringin state and Commonwealth focus to that could help us get the staffing that we need; that would be one area where [the new department] would immediately come into play."
A spokesperson for Ms Taylor said the creation of her own portfolio was "a significant step forward in ensuring that the people of regional NSW have access to the services they need and deserve,"
"Never has the NSW government's investment into regional health been greater, however, we recognise that there are challenges to overcome," the spokesperson said.
"Minister Taylor is a registered nurse and has extensive experience in regional health. She also comes into this role with open eyes and is very willing to sit down and discuss any ideas on how we can improve health outcomes for regional NSW."
Wagga clinician of more than 45 years, Dr Ian Stewart, said Dr McGirr's suggestion for a rural health department could help overcome some of the regional health challenges.
"If you have got the right sort of funding and you set it up with the right sort of people running it, who have it in mind to not only to train the people to make them enthusiastic to work in in these places," he said.
"They would also need to have the experience and the know-how to lobby to government and get them to fund it properly."
Dr Stewart said one of the major issues of providing nursing, midwifery and medical services in rural and remote areas was the level of support provided to staff.
"The basic issue is that the people who are thinking of working in the smaller centres such as West Wyalong and Temora, there are a couple do things that bother them and turn them off," he said.
"One of them is they don't have the skills to cope with the things that the town expects them to do, and this includes emergency matters such as farm accidents."
"Secondly, they feel inadequately supported."
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