Dozens of small towns around NSW are at risk of not having a single GP to call upon, but despite Blayney, Carcoar and Millthorpe being represented in data collated by the Western Primary Health Network, only one of them is currently undergoing a shortage of doctors.
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Blayney Family Medical Practice practice manager Marj Davis said that the only problem with doctors in Blayney is that there isn't one at the hospital.
"We have five doctors here at the moment which is the maximum amount that we can fit," she said. "Four of them consult here in Blayney every day and one of them is in Carcoar three days a week."
Mrs Davis said it was dependent on whether or not a patient wanted to see a specific doctor or not as to how long they would need to wait.
"If you ring in the morning it could be the same day or the next day," she said. "By 3pm we're full so it would be the next day."
Thirteen kilometres up the hill in Millthorpe the situation is somewhat different.
Co-owner of the Millthorpe Pharmacy and Medical Practice Karen Wheelhouse is desperately searching for a full-time doctor.
There is going to be a massive problem with GPs and I don't know what the answer will be.
- Co-owner of the Millthorpe Pharmacy and Medical Practice Karen Wheelhouse
"We have part-time doctors only at the moment," she said. "It's incredibly hard to find a GP anywhere because they're simply not going into the training programs to become one. It's going to become dire."
The main reason why many medical graduates opt for a specialist's role is one of money. A specialist can earn over $100,000 more per year than a GP Ms Wheelhouse said.
"There is going to be a massive problem with GPs and I don't know what the answer will be," she said."Blayney and Millthorpe aren't rural and remote so I'd hate to be in Bourke or elsewhere."
Rural and Remote Medical Services chief executive officer Mark Burdack said small towns can't afford to lose their GPs while waiting for the thousands of new staff.
"We all know that if a rural or remote town loses its GP practice the town has a snowflakes chance in hell of getting it back," he said.
The charity has called on the state and federal government to create a $300 million Rural Health JobKeeper package to stem the loss of rural and remote GPs, nurses and health staff, and prevent the closure of GP practices in rural and remote communities.
"Rural and remote communities are the most vulnerable in Australia and they need immediate support to keep their health centres open and operating while they try to recruit GPs including help to pay nursing and practice staff and ongoing operating costs" Mr Burdack said.
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