Wangi community calls for aid as town left doctorless; Joel Fitzgibbon promises to leave 'no stone unturned' as he moves to resolve situation

The departure of Zhang – which came off the back of the expiration of his Medicare provider number – and the recent retirement of Dr Adrian Graham left many feeling “unsafe”, according to local business owner Sonja Dyke-Clark.

“It’s left a lot of us quite worried because Wangi has a lot of older people, around 50 and 60, that don’t have the ability to travel to another town quickly if they need help,” Ms Dyke-Clark said.

“I know that I feel unsafe because we don’t have that doctor that we can just turn to if we need, and the journey to Toronto or Morisset is quite far for many of us.”

Ms Dyke-Clark’s feeling towards a lack of safety in the town was echoed by Phil Olsen, who rallied community support to host a meeting at the Wangi Wangi GP surgery on French Road.

Around 60 local residents turned out at the rally, which Mr Olsen believes “shows the concern around a lack of a doctor in the area”.

“It feels like the Southlakes Medical Group is caught between a rock and a hard place at the moment because they can convince doctors to come out to Wangi but then those doctors have to agree to go to the bush or they lose their medical licences,” Mr Olsen said.

It was revealed recently by the Lakes Mail that the Southlakes group had lost “five doctors in five years”, and Ms Olsen believes that must stop.

“I have to say that it was great to see so many people turn out to support the area after all that’s been happening, and we had Federal Member for the Hunter Joel Fitzgibbon at the meeting as well.

“Joel [Fitzgibbon] has given us a commitment now that he’s going to follow this path and he’s going to get back to us with what he’s been able to achieve.”

While nothing had been confirmed at the community meeting on French Road, ​​federal Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon revealed he had contacted the Hunter Primary Health Network (HNECCPHN) after the fact, to “find out more” about the situation.

Mr Fitzgibbon confirmed the HNECCPHN had “committed to doing research, and helping where they can” after a conversation late last Friday afternoon.

“My view is there is nothing more fundamental to the role of government than ensuring communities have access to affordable health care and that’s at risk in Wangi,” Mr Fitzgibbon said. “I want to do all that I can to help.”

“The loss of a doctor in any community causes significant distress, so it was good to see action being taken with a well-attended and productive meeting.”

He also expressed surprise Wangi was unable to attract doctors to the lake side community, but explained that the area also “has never fallen into the category of a place that has needed assistance”.

“Wangi has never fallen into the category that attracts measures that secures overseas doctors in rural and remote areas,” he said. “It’s an urban village on one of the country’s central highways.”

“In the past I have had great success working with the Primary Health Network, I’ve already had a conversation with Southlakes Medical Group and I’m confident that when we sit down together we can resolve this issue.

“I find it hard to understand why we struggle to get a local doctor here, it’s a wonderful part of the world.

“I will leave no stone unturned in my efforts to solve this problem, and already there has been good cooperation between all parties and I’m hopeful we can work something out.”