Regional health is often described as being in crisis but doctor and broadcaster Norman Swan is optimistic about its future.
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Mr Swan has been named Orange's 2023 Australia Day ambassador and will deliver an address during official proceedings at Cook Park on January 26.
Speaking to the Daily, Mr Swan said he had fond memories of working in the colour city shortly after arriving in 1978.
"It's my first time being an Australia Day ambassador and I'm really pleased that it's somewhere like Orange, my favourite regional city in NSW," he said.
"It's beautiful, I just love Orange. Country city, stylish, got something for everyone and down to earth.
"When I was training in pediatrics I used to spend time in the air ambulance picking up sick babies.
"I used to get picked up by the ambulance driver from the hospital and inevitably the driver would say 'have you ever been to Orange before? Let me just show you the sights.'
"You would get a five minute drive around the city. That was probably my first introduction to Orange."
The award-winning broadcaster, known most recently for the ABC's Coronacast podcast, said he was optimistic about the future of health in the Central West, a belief he put down to the quality of both doctors and patients.
"The Central West did it tough during the pandemic," he explained.
"Essentially I want to talk about the immense ability of people in regional Australia to bounce back and just be pragmatic about life.
"I do a lot of work in rural medicine and rural doctors. I love working with rural doctors because there is no messing around.
"It's very similar to Scotland in that way. When people say something to you, they mean it.
"Rural doctors don't get contorted by politics and internal factions. They work together and with other health professionals. Everyone is pulling together in the same direction, it's just a joy."
For Mr Swan, delivering an Australia Day address in the country is worlds apart from his upbringing in Glasgow.
"Not in 15 years of Sundays [did I think I would be here]," he laughed.
"I'm still working on my address but it's going to be what I learned about what allows people to bounce back from adversity and the importance of staying who you are.
"That will be my main focus."
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