More than 30,000 people have registered their support on Facebook for Charles Sturt University's (CSU) proposed medical school in Orange and Wagga Wagga.

 

This week alone, postings to Doctors4theBush achieved an audience reach of over 765,000 people on Facebook, with a peak of over 825,000 last week.

 

CSU Director of Corporate Affairs and medical school strategy coordinator, Mr Mark Burdack, said the announcement that the University would establish a second node of its planned school in Wagga Wagga has boosted interest in the plan, with support coming not only from the Orange and Wagga Wagga communities, but from all around rural and regional Australia.

 

"The number of supporters really started to speed up since the announcement that Charles Sturt University would expand its proposal to cover more regions,” he said.

 

"Stories have flooded in about doctor shortages with people waiting unreasonable amounts of time to see a GP, or having to travel long distances.

 

“Doctors4thebush was not just established to inform our communities, but to give rural and regional people an opportunity to talk about their experiences.

 

“City people sometimes forget the human dimension of the rural doctor shortage when they are making decisions about our futures.

 

"I think that's why people are flocking to support a solution led by a regional university.

 

“Charles Sturt University staff live in rural Australia, so it knows the problems of accessing medical services and it has also proven it knows what works on the ground to fix health workforce shortages.

 

"Rural people know that current city university strategies will help a little, but they are not going to get the number of Australian medical graduates into the bush that we need to solve the rural doctor crisis. Health Workforce Australia has told the Government that training doctors in the city won't work, and rural people can see this with their own eyes.

 

“Doctors4theBush was designed by Charles Sturt University and our community consultative committee to give rural and regional Australians a chance to come together to share their experiences, and tell the Government and Opposition directly what they want.”