AFTER six years as a general practitioner in Narrandera, New South Wales, Dr Vitalis Ihuarulam made the “difficult decision” to move to Balranald with his family.
“It all started with a friend whose mother stays here and he told me about Balranald not having a doctor,” he said.
“He told me that people have to wait several weeks to see a GP in Swan Hill which is an hour away.
“I also had someone here tell me they waited six weeks to see a doctor.
“But my concerns doubled when I thought of elderly patients in the local aged care facility having to wait or having to travel so far.”
After months of recruitment efforts from Balranald Shire Council, Far West Local Health District, Western NSW Primary Health Network and the Rural Doctors Network, Dr Ihuarulam began his first consultations with residents on Wednesday last week.
This marks the first time residents in Balranald are able to see a doctor in town since long-time local doctor, Dr Slava Zotov, left Balranald Medical Centre on May 31.
The decline of interest in general practice may contribute to a nationwide GP shortage, according to Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).
RACGP reported fewer medical students choosing general practice as their preference, stating there has been a “repeated decline” with only 10 per cent of students having GP as their preferred speciality in 2023.
However, interest in specialising as a rural generalist is increasing, with 7 per cent of students reporting this as their preferred specialty in 2023, compared to 5.8 per cent in 2022.
On his first day at Balranald Medical Centre, Dr Ihuarulam said he received a warm welcome from community organisations including local pharmacy staff, Maari Ma health, as well as staff and councillors from Balranald Shire Council.
“I felt welcomed by the community who seemed really happy we were coming and I appreciated it a lot,” Dr Ihuarulam said.
“Mayor Louie Zaffina, and acting general manager Glenn Carroll also came and they were very supportive.”
Dr Ihuarulam said he had experienced the friendly nature of the community well before he made the move to Balranald as the town’s new doctor.
“My friend continued to remind me, asking me ‘why not go there and see what’s going on? See if you are able to move down there’,” he said.
“So one day, I came around to visit and the people were quite welcoming even though I didn’t introduce myself as a doctor back then.
“And after that, me and my family discussed giving Balranald a go.”
During his time in Narrandera, Dr Ihuarulam regularly saw patients from the town’s local aged care.
“Having a lot of elderly patients before, my concerns in Balranald were around the senior citizens that can’t always easily make the trip to Swan Hill or Mildura to see a doctor,” Dr Ihuarulam said.
“I knew the residents of Bidgee Haven Retirement Hostel couldn’t keep going without seeing a doctor.
“Moving was a difficult decision to make in the beginning, but Narrendera has more doctors and are better off losing one than no doctor being here.”
Dr Ihuarulam moved to Australia after leaving his home country of South Africa for “a change of environment”, and became an Australian citizen this September with his wife and children.
As he aims to establish himself in Balranald, Dr Ihuarulam hopes to expand his services to Euston
“Along the line, if I can get another doctor to join this centre with me, it will make things easier as well,” he said.
Dr Ihuarulam said the Medical Centre is now using a new system to help consult and keep medical records of patients.
“I want the community to know that this is a new clinic, not an extension of the previous one,” he said.
“So their previous records are not here.
“Some people I’ve already seen have brought their health summaries from when the last doctor was here, which has helped.”
Dr Ihuarulam said he was grateful for the support of current staff at the medical centre and Primary Health Network for helping him settle into the clinic.
“The current staff here are really dedicated to learn and work with the new system,” he said.
“PHN staff have come here with me and they have been doing great in helping the clinic kick-off.”
