July 6 update:
The Mudgee Guardian reached out to Dubbo MP Dugald Saunders for comment. On Monday he replied and said he is aware of the concerns in the community.
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"I have been in regular contact with the Western NSW Local Health District about the situation at the Gulgong Multi Purpose Service (MPS), and I understand fully why there is some level of concern within the community because health is the most important thing we have," Mr Saunders said.
"This is an operational matter and the LHD is working very hard to resolve it as soon as possible.
"I have also been assured that residents of the MPS who need aged care will continue to receive care by their nominated General Practitioner."
Original story:
Following an announcement last week that Coolah's Medical Centre will close, leaving the town with just one GP, Gulgong Medical Centre has announced it will have to adapt its services after a Visiting Medical Officer contract renewal was not accepted.
'It has become evident that there is a lot of confusion in the community regarding the state of our current health care services,' read a post on the Gulgong Medical Centre Facebook page.
'Gulgong Medical Centre has been contracted to Western New South Wales Local Health District to provide on call and visiting Medical Officers to Gulgong MPS for many years,'
'Unfortunately after months of negotiation, this contract has not been renewed,'
'In response to this, Gulgong Medical Centre are looking at ways to adapt our services that we provide in the clinic. While the clinic has obvious limitations such as hours of operation we remain committed to improving our service and providing the community with quality health care within our constraints.'
Coolah Medical Centre announced last week that it will close on July 17 after the existing VMO and GP said he would be leaving Coolah following a contract negotiation they were unhappy with.
The Mudgee Guardian reached out to WNSWLHD for comment and Chief Executive, Scott McLachlan said the VMO contract that recently came up for renewal was not accepted and they have begun advertising for a replacement.
"The Federal Government is responsible for General Practitioners (GPs) across the state, including in rural and regional areas," Mr McLachlan said.
"However the WNSWLHD works with Council and other local organisations to develop opportunities to attract more general practice services to Gulgong. The WNSWLHD contracts GPs to work in hospitals as VMOs. The WNSWLHD offers contracts that are consistent with packages accepted by medical practitioners across rural NSW,"
"A VMO contract has recently come up for renewal in Gulgong and the contract offered was not accepted. We have therefore commenced advertising for that role. We welcome expressions of interest from any GP, including those currently practising in Gulgong,"
"The District's negotiations with prospective VMOs are undertaken in good faith to ensure that the resources available to the District are put to work in a way that is fair to all rural communities. In return, as with any contract or agreement, those receiving payment are asked to perform a range of duties consistently, reliably and to a required standard,"
"The District is absolutely committed to supporting the role of the Gulgong MPS. The MPS continues to have VMO services, and all staff at the MPS are supported by a range of effective telehealth services. The Gulgong MPS budget is around $3 million in 2019-2020."