The abolition of Medicare Locals will put more than 140 jobs the Western Region and 65 in the Far West in doubt and potentially jeopardise the lives of some of the community's most at risk.
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The Abbott government announced on Tuesday night that 61 Medicare Locals will be abolished and replaced with 40 new primary health care networks.
Staff of both the Western NSW Medicare Local and Far West Medicare Local had their contracts extended for at least 12 months prior to the announcement of the budget, guaranteeing their jobs for another year.
However, the government has not provided details on what will happen come June 1, 2015, especially how 61 existing networks will become just 40 and how many staff will be retained.
Far Western Medicare Local director of corporate services Donna Jeffries is worried that the changes may result in less effective patient treatment.
A large percentage of clients in her region are Aboriginals and a lot of work has been put into ensuring they get the right treatment.
"My biggest concern is that the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people will continue to get wider and that's distressing," she said.
"The challenges we have are unique. There are some of the most disadvantaged people in Australia out here that have issues like entrenched unemployment and social problems."
"Medicare Local has taken bold steps to address these issues and if Medicare Locals do cease to exist, we are extremely concerned."
Western NSW Medicare Local CEO Jenny Beange said her department had anticipated the announcement by the government and will work to ensure it can meet the goals of the new network.
"WML believes it is in a good position to make this transition to becoming a Primary Health Network by July 1, 2015," Dr Beange said.
"Currently WML is the biggest organisation in Western NSW responsible for primary health care needs for our local communities."
It had been widely speculated that Prime Minister Tony Abbott would look to abolish Medicare Locals, even prior to being elected last year.
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A report by Professor John Horvath was highly critical of Medicare Locals, suggesting they disempowered local GPs, doubled up on services and the name confused some people about their services.
Ms Jeffries rejected any suggestion of a negative impact in the far west.
"The report was quite scathing but I would like to know what Medicare Locals that report was based on because that certainly isn't a reflection of the way we fit into the community," she said.
The Abbott government is experiencing strong resistance to its budget announcement, especially in health.
The NSW government announced yesterday that it would not introduce $7 charges in hospital emergency wards to to match the fee that will now be charged in GP clinics.
NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner also said no health cuts would be made, potentially leaving the state government with more than a $1 billion shortfall in their own budget.