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Coonabarabran Times THURSDAY, 20TH JULY 2023
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Doctor shortage looms: two GP’s depart After several years of adequate GP coverage in Coonabarabran, the departure of two local doctors in the coming weeks will have a significant impact on the town and outlying communities. It was recently announced that D r Judith Larnach will leave Coonabarabran Area Medical Centre at the end of this month, while Dr Jackson Blythe will depart Warrumbungle Medical Centre on Friday, 4 August. The absence of both doctors will cause
considerable increase i n wo r k load fo r the rem a i n i ng docto r s i n town. Warrumbungle Medical Centre practice m a n a g e r, D r A n i e l l o Iannuzzi, said he would continue to work full-time, while Dr Jessica Yabsley would be providing some part-time telemedicine
from August unti l she returns to the surgery in February 2024. “Whilst we are trying to recruit new doctors, the situation around Australia is dire; there is a critical undersupply of GPs,” Dr Iannuzzi said. “With the doctor shor tage in town, it is anticipated that waiting
Warrumbungle Medical Centre will soon lose Dr Jackson Blythe.
1 - Coonabarabran Times, Thursday, 20th July 2023
times will become significantly longer. “We request that you plan your visits as far ahead as possible and book with plenty of prior notice. “We understand that u rg e nt m a t te r s a r i s e and we do our best to accommodate urgent requests.”
Dr Iannuzzi said unfo r tunately the re would be days w hen no docto r s would be available and his practice would be forced to close for part days or full days. “We do our best to keep these days to a minimum and apologise for any inconvenience
caused,” he said. I n l ate O cto b e r D r Iannuzzi will be taking l e a ve, h o w eve r, D r s Ve r ra n , D o b s o n a n d Strebel, who have previously worked at the practice, will cover this period. At Coonaba rab ran Area Medical Centre, p r a c t i c e m a n a g e r/
nurse, Coo Harris, said they were also actively looking for GP registrars tor their surgery. A spokesperson from We s te r n N SW Lo ca l Health District said t h ey d i d n ot ex p e c t t h e r e w o u l d b e a ny impact to operations at Coonabarabran Health Service.
Long-serving GP, Dr Judith Larnach will leave Coonabarabran Area Medical Centre next week.