The Scone Medical Practice has been named the best general practice in NSW by the Primary Health Network.
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| Practice Manager Ross Higham says the practice offers a range of services for rural communities. [Picture: Scone Advocate] |
The 82-year-old facility was recognised based on its high retention rate and the wide range of services it provides to rural communities.
“The practice also arranges for visiting specialists in a variety of areas … to provide services on site at the practice’s purpose built medical facility,” PHN CEO Richard Nankervis said.
The ‘best in NSW’ Award recognises the practice’s commitment to the health and wellbeing of its patients, PHN said in a statement.
Practice Manager Ross Higham said the facility aims to give a comprehensive experience for patients.
“We try to give it widest available services we can. We have a physiotherapist on site, we have a psychologist on site,” he said.
“We have visiting dietitians, visiting endocrinologists, and a cardio specialist as well.”
He said that while regional hospitals at Tamworth, Newcastle and Maitland all provided comprehensive services, “the closest one to us is an hour-and-a-half away”.
“We’re trying to cut down the distance that people have to travel as a priority,” he said.
The award comes as regional Australia continues to battle a shortage of doctors in regional Australia, with a bulk of GPs consolidated in metropolitan areas.
In 2015, the then-Abbott government introduced new incentives to get doctors into small regional towns, and out of larger centres like Cairns and Townsville.
Part of the plan was to increase the paid incentive from $12,000 and $23,000 for doctors working in towns of less than 5,000 people.
"It makes more sense to use that money to attract doctors to where the greatest shortages are - small rural and remote communities, not big regional cities," Rural Health minister Fiona Nash said at the time.
"This means bigger incentive payments will go to doctors who choose to work in the areas of greatest need."
However, speaking with the ABC late last year, Rural Doctors Association of Australia president Dr Ewen McPhee said incentives put in place so far haven't helped.
"Even with the best of intentions over the past 20 years, we still haven't fixed the rural workforce shortage problem," he said.
However, Mr Higham said he's often seen a link between where a training doctor has come from and where they end up practising.
"We generally find that people with rural backgrounds tend to go to rural practices because they understand the community," he said.
"We also have some doctors from Sydney who come out here as well and find the experience very rewarding, both medically as well as fitting into the local community."
The Scone medical practice opened in March 1934 by Dr W.O Pye, the great-great grandson of British convicts.
