Students and staff from the Charles Sturt University School of Rural Medicine met with members of the Select Committee for Remote, Rural and Regional Health on Monday.

The Committee is holding a public hearing in Orange on Tuesday 28 May which is centred on the delivery of specific health services and specialist care in remote, rural and regional NSW.

Ahead of the hearing, the Committee toured the teaching facility at the Bloomfield campus which, along with the main Orange campus’s state-of-the-art clinical facilities, supports the education of the University’s 150 Medicine students.

Located in the Orange health precinct and opposite the public hospital, the Bloomfield site offers excellent opportunities for training and collaboration with healthcare professionals and industry partners.

Professor Megan Smith, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science and Health, said the School of Rural Medicine - established four years ago - will play a crucial role in the provision of doctors for regional Australia moving forward.

“More than 70 per cent of the University’s graduates going on to work in rural, regional and remote areas. This is particularly the case in health: Charles Sturt students make up around 10 per cent of all NSW enrolments in this field,” Professor Smith said.

“Every year we provide around 1,500 graduates for hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and emergency teams across NSW and beyond.

“We have previously highlighted challenges to providing education and training in these professions, particularly around the number of funded student places available in health, allied health and especially medical programs.

“We will keep making the argument for an expansion of funded places in these fields so that we can continue to support the healthcare needs of our regions, as we always have.”

At the Bloomfield site the University has established the first Rural Interprofessional Health Education Simulation Centre, funded by Newmont Mines Cadia Valley Operations through a generous donation of $1.4 million.

The Simulation Centre will ensure the University’s medical, allied health and nursing students have access to world-class simulated learning facility to support the ongoing development and training needs of regional medical and health professionals, as well as the broader Central West community.

Professor Smith said the Bloomfield campus’s facilities and proximity to the Orange health precinct were imperative in ensuring the School of Rural Medicine’s students were not disadvantaged by their regional location.

“To adequately prepare future regional medical professionals for work in rural and remote communities, it is important they have access to the highest quality learning opportunities,” Professor Smith said.

“We must prevent an educational divide between regional and metropolitan students by ensuring equal access to state-of-the-art training facilities, technology, and ongoing, accessible learning and development opportunities.”

Members of the Committee in Orange included:

• Dr Joe McGirr MP, Member for Wagga Wagga, Chair of the Committee
• Ms Janelle Saffin MP, Member for Lismore
• Mr Clayton Barr MP, Member for Cessnock
• Ms Liza Butler MP, Member for South Coast
• Ms Trish Doyle MP, Member for Blue Mountains
• Mrs Tanya Thompson MP, Member for Myall Lakes
• The Hon Leslie Williams MP, Member for Port Macquarie