The closure of the beds was one of the issues raised at the Parliamentary inquiry into health outcomes and access to health and hospital services in rural, regional and remote NSW.

Walgett enrolled nurse Betty Kennedy Williams was one of the people to address the inquiry during recent hearings looking at the far west.

Ms Kennedy Williams, who has been a nurse at Walgett Hospital for 42 years, said she had seen a lot of changes to nursing staff in her time.

"When I was first trained we had just the right amount of staff for each patient, but these days the staffing is critical for patient care. As the years went on there was a decrease in nursing staff," she told the inquiry.

"There is not enough staff to assist with mental health, which is a high number of cases in our town. This is due to the high number of drug ad alcohol-related issues and the COVID pandemic.

ALSO MAKING NEWS:

"Staff are not able or available to give them one-on-one care."

The issue will be at its most serious in February when Ms Kennedy Williams said beds will have to be shut.

"The [patients] who are critical will go to Dubbo... The less critical ones, they will manage around who is there with the staffing," she said.

"There is a shortage of staff so they will manage with whatever they have got, but if there's anything major that comes in, they will just ship out."

The staff at the hospital will be focused on aged care and those who need kidney dialysis.

Even now, Ms Kennedy Williams said the nursing staff were working "up to three or four overtime shifts a week" to cover demand.

However, her solution to the issues is straightforward.

Ms Kennedy Williams wants funding for staffed to be trained in rural and regional areas, on country.

"Most Aboriginal people love their country, and going outside their country just breaks them down," she said.

She called for training to be undertaken in Walgett, just like it is three hours away in Dubbo, as a way to grow local staff.

Ms Kennedy Williams said being able to access training in Walgett would also ensure mothers did not have to leave their kids, and people wouldn't have to stress about the cost of living away from home.

Having done her own training in Dubbo, Ms Kennedy Williams said it was a "lonely experience" having no family and no support.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: