Rodney Stevens

The Northern NSW Local Health District says it is doing everything it can to minimise the impact of doctor shortages in the region as locals report waiting for more than a month to see a GP.

With the rapidly growing and ageing population of the valley, the Clarence Valley Independent sent NSW Health Minister Ryan Park several questions about attracting doctors to the region, the staffing of doctors, nurses and specialists at local hospitals, and the redevelopment of Grafton and Maclean Hospitals.

The response received was from Northern NSW Local Health District NNSWLHD acting Chief Executive Lynne Weir, not Minister Park, who said many areas of Australia were experiencing doctor shortages.

“Northern NSW is not immune from the significant and ongoing challenge of securing healthcare staff, including doctors, that is being experienced across Australia and internationally,” she said.

“Where there are vacant shifts which are not able to be filled by existing medical staff, NNSWLHD engages locum (agency) doctors or nurses to ensure we continue to provide excellent care to our patients.

“Vacancies can occur for various reasons, including illness, staff retirement, resignation or promotion, and agency (locum) staff often form a key part of the clinical workforce while recruitment is underway.”

Recently it was reported up to 30 locum nurses were finishing their secondment at Grafton Base Hospital, but Ms Weir said this had no impact on surgeries.

“The number of agency staff employed across the District at any one time ebbs and flows, as contracts expire and replacement staff are found,” she said.

“Surgery performance has not been impacted by the recent departure of some agency staff.

“We continue to work hard to recruit to vacant clinical positions, including in nursing, medical and allied health.”

For anyone considering a career in health, Ms Weir said the NNSWLHD offers traineeships for a number of entry level nursing positions, with flexible, family friendly rostering, plus both Grafton and Maclean hospitals are accredited for trainee GPs.

“Maclean District Hospital and Grafton Base Hospital provide great training opportunities for future rural generalist doctors, with both sites being accredited to employ GP trainees through the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine,” she said.

“Grafton Base Hospital is also now accredited to train second year junior medical officers, which allows trainee doctors to be rotated from Lismore Base Hospital to Grafton as part of their training requirements.

“This is in addition to the established training opportunities for third year junior medical officers and training for emergency specialist doctors.”

Ms Weir said the NNSWLHD works with both universities and NSW Health to attract health professionals to the Clarence Valley.

“NNSWLHD works closely with universities to develop training pathways for rural medical students to complete their training, and then progress through specialist or generalist training posts, promoting a sustainability pipeline for our rural medical workforce,” she said.

“NSW Health also has a range of programs and incentives in place to continue to attract healthcare workers to rural and regional areas to work with the dedicated staff already serving these communities, including the Clarence Valley.”