BALRANALD residents are navigating how to handle their health concerns two weeks after being left without a doctor.
While temporary arrangements to access medical care in the township of 1063 people have been put in place, locals and health staff in surrounding towns are concerned about the impact.
Some residents are travelling to Swan Hill and Robinvale for healthcare, both about an one hour drive, and putting pressure on those towns’ services.
It comes after long-time doctor Dr Slava Zotov left the town on May 31, effectively closing Balranald Medical Centre after attempts to sell the clinic were unsuccessful.
Resident Lyn Flanagan said she and her husband now travel to Swan Hill to see a doctor.
“My husband needed to see a doctor and we ended up in Swan Hill,” she said. “We were lucky enough to get an appointment in a month because it’s not easy to get an appointment in Swan Hill.”
“But in our catchment area, there’s basically no way to go see a doctor.”
Ms Flanagan fears people in Balranald could be putting their health at risk and called on local federal MP Sussan Ley and state MP Helen Dalton to help.
“What we need to have in place is the state and federal governments working together to improve rural health,” she said.
“It’s not just happening here, it’s happening in a lot of other places.
“But we’re on the Stuart Highway … I feel like we’re being compared to smaller towns like Ivanhoe and Menindee.
“We have around 200 trucks going through each day and the caravan parks are full of grey nomads on the move.
“With a massive number of people travelling through the town, if there’s a serious accident on the road, they have to travel an hour before they can see a doctor.”
Emergency care, acute beds and aged care services can now be found at Balranald Multipurpose Service, arranged by New South Wales Far West Local Health District.
In addition, Dr Sujay Ganganaghatta Chandraiah, from Deakin Medical Centre in Mildura, has been offering virtual consultations every Saturday.
But Ms Flanagan is concerned that the elderly population of Balranald are unable to adapt to online and telehealth consultations.
“It’s all very fine to have access to online consultation, but most old people don’t have a smart phone or a computer so they can’t have access to a doctor,” she said.
Maari Ma Health Balranald nurse Helen Murphy thanked Dr Zotov for his efforts in Balranald over the past 21 years.
Ms Murphy added said she was also worried about how the lack of a doctor would affect older residents in town.
“As a nurse in the town, this issue is a massive worry, especially for the older generation who do not have the capability, and some the capacity, to use telehealth options,” she said.
“And transport out of town to other GPs is a major issue as well.”
Swan Hill District Health executive director of medical services Associate Professor Rex Prabhu said there has been an increase of patients from the Balranald community in Swan Hill.
“The increased loss of GPs in the local community including Balranald is of great concern to us,” he said.
“SHDH continues to work on attracting additional GPs through both recruitment of experienced GPs and GP training programs.”
Far West Local Health District said they would provide an update on June 30 on a longer-term solution for the Balranald community.
Western New South Wales Public Health Network chief executive Bradley Porter said they were working with the Department of Health and Aged Care, the NSW Government and the Far West Local Health District to develop solutions following the closure of the Balranald Medical Centre.
“Whilst we work on a long-term solution, in the interim, we have secured funding from the department to enable operations that ensure the people of Balranald continue to have access to health and medical services during this period,” Mr Porter said.
Find out more about Deakin Medical Centre online at https://deakinmedical.com.au/
