The NSW town of Gulgong had no doctor for 18 months, leading the community to offer a $45,000 incentive. (Source: realestate.com.au/Google Earth)
A New South Wales town spent a year and a half without a doctor, with nearly 3,000 residents forced to travel as far as Sydney just to see the GP. But that’s finally changed after a new incentive was introduced by locals to attract doctors to work in the region.
The Gulgong Medical Centre shut its doors in early 2024 due to a lack of staff. The closure saw a spike in residents leaning on the hospital emergency department in the nearby town of Mudgee, along with two GP clinics in that town closing their books to new patients.
Local Kate Day told Yahoo Finance the situation was “dire”, with residents having to travel hours to go and see a GP whether they went to Dubbo, Lithgow or Sydney.
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“It was pretty dire for a small town and something that I think a lot of Sydney people would take for granted and would never be acceptable in the city,” Day said.
“In the community of Gulgong, there is a higher level of chronic illness. So there were a lot of people in dire need that just went without and didn’t have the ability to travel.”
Fed up waiting for help from the government, residents decided to take matters into their own hands and create non-for-profit grassroots initiative Doctors 4 Mudgee to attract more doctors to the region.
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Doctors 4 Mudgee aims to attract more doctors to the mid-western region through incentives and lifestyle support. (Source: Doctors 4 Mudgee)
It offers fellowed doctors a cash incentive of $45,000 paid across three years, along with a lifestyle concierge service that offers relocation support and help with things like finding housing, schooling and childcare to help integrate doctors and their families into the community.
It’s financially backed by local coal operations Ulan, Wilpinjong and Moolarben, and is supported by volunteers, leaders in the health sector, and local government.
“If we were waiting for a top-down directive from the government, we’d still be without a doctor in the town. So we really decided that we had to take action,” Day said.
Gulgong now has two doctors, thanks to the initiative. (Source: Mudgee Region Tourism)
The initiative was a success, with the Gulgong Medical Centre reopening its doors in July last year and two doctors now working in Gulgong, along with two in Mudgee.
“It’s been really positive and a lot of [the doctors] have said it’s been a great carrot for them to look at moving here, along with being in a country town where you are so wanted,” Day told Yahoo Finance.
“Your patients are just so grateful for you to be there. So it’s a different style of patient care, more rewarding in that regard, because you know you have more one-on-one with them than city GPs.”
Doctors 4 Mudgee is hoping to bring 10 doctors to the region over the next three years, with the $45,000 incentive on the table for successful applicants.
Gulgong and Mudgee are some of the many country towns that have been offering up large salary packages, including six-figure bonuses and free housing, to try and attract doctors away from the city.
The Shire of Quairading in WA notably offered a package worth nearly $1 million to secure a doctor back in 2023. Julia Creek in Queensland, meanwhile, offered a $600,000 salary, a house and a car to attract a permanent GP.
Australia is currently facing a critical doctor shortage, with the Department of Health estimating we are currently about 2,400 GP’s short of demand. This shortfall is expected to increase to 3,900 in 2028 and more than 8,900 by 2048.
Day said the Doctors 4 Mudgee initiative was a replicable model and goes to show what was possible when rural communities took matters into their own hands.
“Community coming together, putting forward a cash incentive and other offerings, is a great way for other towns to look at trying to entice more doctors out their way as well,” she said.
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