Barraba is being left behind on health worker housing, Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson says, even as the state government spruiks new accommodation for regional health staff from Armidale to Broken Hill.
Mr Anderson says the accommodation currently available to visiting health workers in Barraba is cramped and outdated, and does not meet the expectations of a modern workforce.
“The Barraba community deserves to have the best possible healthcare delivered in their local community,” Mr Anderson said.
“Like any regional community, one of the biggest challenges facing local healthcare is the difficulty in attracting and retaining a workforce that meets the needs of the local community,” Mr Anderson said.
“Often, visiting workers help fill the gaps when local workers are on leave or unwell.”
The former Coalition Government delivered health worker accommodation in Tamworth, Gunnedah and Quirindi under a similar scheme, and Mr Anderson wants Barraba added to the current program.
“I’ve worked hard to deliver the essential health worker accommodation our region needs, and Barraba is next on the list,” Mr Anderson said.
The call comes as the Minns Labor Government spruiks its own record on regional health housing, with Health Minister Ryan Park confirming this week that Hunter New England is among nine local health districts benefiting from the government’s $200.1 million Key Health Worker Accommodation program.
Under the program, an ageing staff accommodation block close to Armidale Hospital is being redeveloped into 10 self-contained units, one of more than 60 dwellings currently underway across the state, alongside similar projects in Grafton, Lismore, Tweed and Coffs Harbour.
“The Minns Labor Government is committed to ensuring everyone in NSW continues to have access to safe, high-quality health care as close to home as possible,” Mr Park said.
“That’s why we are recruiting more staff to regional NSW, delivering more beds and more hospitals, and expanding services.”
The government also points to its Rural Health Workforce Incentive Scheme, which has delivered a recruitment incentive to 6,982 healthcare workers and a retention payment to 14,168 more across rural, regional and remote NSW since 2022. Incentive packages worth up to $20,000 a year can include sign-on bonuses, relocation assistance and housing.
Regional recruitment was also in the spotlight this week with the deployment of 10 newly qualified Intensive Care Paramedics across NSW, including Alice Hollowood, who has spent most of her nine-year career serving communities across Hunter New England Health District after relocating from the Sunshine Coast to join NSW Ambulance.
“Working in regional areas has shown me how important advanced clinical skills truly are, and I wanted to be able to provide that high level of care,” Ms Hollowood said.
There are now 878 trained Intensive Care Paramedics working across NSW, with 431 of them based in regional areas.
For Barraba, the wait goes on. Mr Anderson says the case for action is straightforward.
“That’s why Barraba needs new accommodation, and I’ve been pushing the government to deliver it as part of the $200m Key Health Worker Accommodation program,” Mr Anderson said.
“I’m calling on the government to listen to the needs of our region and deliver the accommodation Barraba needs.”
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