Dr Dissanayake recently confirmed rumours that he would be relocating to Melbourne in the coming weeks to take up a position as a GP, surgeon and emergency ward doctor at various hospitals and clinics.

Dr Dissanyake cited various reasons for the move, especially noting that being the only doctor in town “can get very hard” after 11 years.

“This week alone I’ve been working up to 10.30pm, on top of answering emergencies at night and meeting my surgery hours, so it is constantly active work,” he said.

“To be honest, I don’t think there’s a time in the last ten years where I’ve actually sat down to eat my lunch, so it’s a hard job, but that’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed it.”

The Mudgee Guardian understands that the news of Coolah’s only permanent doctor’s impending relocation left many residents, including Dr Dissanyake’s fellow councillors on the Warrumbungle Shire Council, concerned over the future of the surgery.

To be honest, I don’t think there’s a time in the last ten years where I’ve actually sat down to eat my lunch.

But last Friday Dr Dissanyake said he would continue commuting to Coolah to practise at the surgery on a two-week rotational roster, as he had organised a second doctor new to the region with whom to share the role at the centre.

Dr Dissanyake said the recent recruitment of a second doctor for the practice - something for which he had campaigned for more than four years - was a “big relief”, and would allow the centre to continue as normal.

“With our children about to start their schooling, we have been thinking of relocating to Melbourne for a while now, but I wanted to make sure Coolah’s medical service was uninterrupted when I left,” he said.

Dr Dissanyake said he had been negotiating with the second doctor, an Australian-trained man, for several years before recently convincing him to take up the position, which he will fill by commuting to Coolah fortnightly from Sydney.