Hilltops Mayor Brian Ingram delighted with the 2018 Federal Budget announcement of the Murray Darling Medical School.
Mayor Ingram says the 2018 Budget announcement this week of the Murray Darling Medical School was great news for communities in the Hilltops region. Central NSW Councils (CENTROC) have being a strong supporter of the Murray Darling Medical School for some time.
‘’The fact is we have challenging health outcomes and doctor to patient ratios in our region and we know that the Murray Darling Medical School model will work,’’ Mayor Ingram said.
Mayors in the CENTROC area believe the current model does not work for smaller communities. “The most remote and least wealthy communities have spent decades offering cars and houses, building medical centres and the like. Despite years of being promised a tsunami of Australian trained doctors, this has never materialized.”
“This region has been a resounding supporter of growing our own health workforce, particularly our own medical workforce, this week’s budget announcement will allow a better and sustainable approach to training doctors, nurses and allied health.
“Our Councils look forward to working with the Murray Darling Medical School Network to encourage all our local health services to prioritise training capacity for rural medical graduates who are the most likely to remain in rural practices like the research suggests.’’
‘’We commend the Government for delivering this package for our communities especially our Federal members in our region who we know have been advocating strongly.” Mayor Ingram said.