A parliamentary inquiry into health in regional and rural areas has been told of horror stories of patients who now refuse to seek medical advice because of past experiences.
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Indidg Connect owner Ann-Maree Chandler and Dubbo Regional Aboriginal Medical Service practice manager Jamie Keed and general practitioner Dr Amy Perron were among those who spoke on Wednesday morning during the hearing in Dubbo.
The three spoke of staff and specialist shortages, a lack of knowledge around cultural beliefs and the way Indigenous people were treated when presenting at services.
Ms Chandler cited three cases where the health system had failed people from an early age, with those involved in sexual assaults which lead them down the path of ice and drug abuse, unable to get the assistance they require, despite their health records showing extensive consultations.
"We need to be realistic in the service we are providing for Aboriginal people."
"Service isn't there, cultural needs aren't being met or respected,. They go to services, and are treated like they are just a junkie. They go to psychiatric services and their needs are met by giving them a pill and they are told that that's going to help them, where is the psychology? It's not there, it's not available."
Ms Chandler said a persons health, physical health and mental health all needed to be addressed, and those services weren't available.
"That means loving people to good health, not locking them up in jail, not giving them a pill and sending them home where they have no where to go because they are homeless, but actually working on physical health, mental health and making them safe is what can make the difference.
"I have seen that work with many of our clients. But it is difficult because the services aren't there, and they can't afford it."
Her comments were backed by Ms Keed and Dr Perron who said their patients were dying because they wouldn't present to the hospital if they needed medical assistance.
"They won't go because of the way they are treated because of the colour of their skin. They wont go because they have been sitting in their beds for days without event having their sheets changed, and no one has visited them as in Aboriginal health workers, and I feel like there needs to be something done about this now," Ms Keed said.
Dr Perron said there was a six week wait for regular appointments, compounded by the fact they had been trying to recruit GPs for the past six months and the lack of specialist services in the city.
"During COVID-19 we lost a lot of cardiologists here in Dubbo, so we had upward of a 12 month wait for a private cardiologist.
"In the time that you are waiting for a specialist the GPs have to hold the patient and keep them well, so we are seeing them more frequently as well, which compounds the increasing waiting list, so we aren't seeing the new patients with chronic diseases, we are reviewing prior patients.
"That goes across the board with a lot of specialists as well, it's not just cardiologists, its ENT, pediatricians, rheumatology, dermatology, it's across the board. Waiting times for surgery are also quite extended as well."
The only permanent GP at the Dubbo Regional Aboriginal Medical Service, Dr Perron said she would like to do more, but she was only one person.
While there were acute appointments each day for emergency services, and she was seeing walk-ins on the day, there was only so much she could do in a day.
"I do find that difficult."
"Having extra services in the community that we could refer to, knowing our patients are getting the care that they would get if lived in the middle of Sydney would take a lot of pressure off, but as a GP in a rural community with no where to send our patients, we do take that home, we take on a lot of extra responsibilities that we wouldn't otherwise have to do," Dr Perron said.
The hearing in Dubbo followed a hearing in Wellington on Tuesday, which also heard from a number of different people across regional councils and the health service, including Dubbo Regional Council mayor Ben Shields.
Hearings are being held at a number of regional centres across the state this year, with the final hearing to be held at Parliament House in Sydney in December.
Hearings have already been held in Deniliquin, Cobar and Wellington.
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Lynn Rayner
I am the editor of the Daily Liberal, Mailbox Shopper, Western Magazine and associated western publications (Wellington Times and Narromine News which are both online only publications). I have been the editor for three years. I have been a journalist for 15 years and was formally the digital specialist for the Western NSW area assisting with digital coverage and growth across 13 mastheads, including the three dailies. Before that I worked as a journalist in Lithgow and Mudgee covering a number of different rounds. I established the social media accounts in Lithgow and took an interest in the digital aspects of the paper. I started my journalism career at the former Myall Coast Nota based as the journalist-in-charge at Tea Gardens while also working part time in Forster as the council reporter for the Great Lakes Advocate.
I am the editor of the Daily Liberal, Mailbox Shopper, Western Magazine and associated western publications (Wellington Times and Narromine News which are both online only publications). I have been the editor for three years. I have been a journalist for 15 years and was formally the digital specialist for the Western NSW area assisting with digital coverage and growth across 13 mastheads, including the three dailies. Before that I worked as a journalist in Lithgow and Mudgee covering a number of different rounds. I established the social media accounts in Lithgow and took an interest in the digital aspects of the paper. I started my journalism career at the former Myall Coast Nota based as the journalist-in-charge at Tea Gardens while also working part time in Forster as the council reporter for the Great Lakes Advocate.
