A public meeting on the future of primary health care in the Armidale region is being held next Wednesday, February 15, with RSVPs closing on Monday.
The meeting, being hosted by the New England Visions 2030 Institute, will be addressed by the Chair of the New England Division of General Practice, Vicki Howell. Dr Howell has been living and practising in Armidale since 2006. She was also an inaugural senior lecturer for 12 years with the School of Rural Medicine at UNE.
The Q&A session is expected to cover the recent drop in the number of GPs practicing in Armidale and the solutions that may be considered to address the problems.
Maria Hitchcock, convenor of the New England Visions 2030 Institute, said in her recent newsletter that over 40 RSVPs, mostly from doctors and health organisations, have been received already.
“This topic is hitting the national headlines every day and people are very concerned about the growing lack of GPs, a problem which was once prevalent in smaller towns but has now reached larger regional centres,” she wrote.
Questions on the issue may be submitted in advance by email to New England Visions 2030, as long as they are received by Sunday February 12. Ms Hitchcock said the sooner people can get their questions in, the better.
“Don’t delay as there is a limit to the number of questions that can be asked in the time allowed.”
Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall is expected to attend along with many of the town’s doctors.
The meeting is being held at the Armidale Bowling Club on the 15th of February from 5.30 to 7pm.
Those wishing to attend the meeting are requested to RSVP by 5pm on Monday the 13th of February, by emailing newenglandvisions2030@gmail.com
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