Medicare Locals were set up to fill gaps in health services, with Gunnedah providing programs with a focus on Aboriginal health, as well as services like psychology, physiotherapy and podiatry.

From June 30, Australia’s 61 Medicare Locals, including the New England service which takes in 

Gunnedah, will be cut and replaced with 30 Primary Health Networks (PHNs).  

The plan could potentially mean the loss of 10 staff at the Gunnedah centre in Marquis Street, and leave a number of health workers under a cloud of uncertainty.

The new Primary Health Network for this area would take in not only the New England and north-west, but Newcastle and the Central Coast as well. It will extend from Gosford to the Queensland border, taking in a population of 1.2 million and subsequently raising questions about services in rural areas. 

“My main concern is that it’s a much larger geographical area,” New England Medicare Local chief executive officer Graeme Kershaw said.

“The New England Medicare Local covers 96,00 square kilometres with a disperse population of 180,000. Making sure those people have access to health care is a concern. 

“The challenge would be that those communities don’t miss out on health services as a result of this reform.”

One-third of the New England Medicare Local’s $15 million budget is directed toward Aboriginal health, with Gunnedah providing services for mothers and babies, screenings for health assessment, transport to attend medical appointments and financial assistance for Aboriginal people with chronic illness to travel.

There is also a whole range of different allied health services available to the community along with visiting specialists from Sydney and Newcastle.

Gunnedah mayor Owen Hasler raised concerns about the new network and rural health care provision during a meeting with New England MP  Barnaby Joyce last week. 

“We’re not entirely sure what is being proposed - we’re talking about much bigger districts,” Cr Hasler said.

“Our experience with catering for rural and regional areas based in large centres haven’t been all that positive in the past and that’s something we don’t wish to return to.” 

Mr Joyce said he would raise the issue with Health Minister Sussan Ley, but admitted the last time he spoke about the concerns with the previous health minister, he “didn’t have much luck”.

“We’ve got a budgetary problem and we’ve got to fix it, otherwise there’ll be no Medicare Local because there’ll be no money,” Mr Joyce said.

The new PHNs are due to come into effect in April however there are concerns about how quickly the transition can happen.