They are among the 10,148 full-time health services staff that the NSW government is recruiting starting this year as health services are declining, particularly in rural and remote towns of the region.

A spokesperson for the Western NSW Local Health District said they are actively recruiting all nursing and midwifery vacancies with many staff furloughing due to illnesses contributing to constant staff shortages.

Apart from resignations and terminations, the spokesman said, furloughed staff includes those who have contacted COVID-19 and influenza and the sick leaves have left holes in rosters at hospitals and allied health services.

"In instances where rosters may have gaps due to staff unavailability, the district engages agency or casual staff to ensure there is a sufficient number of nurses and midwives to provide care to patients," the spokesman said.

Critical roles that need to be filled with staff immediately have been allocated $883 million in the 2022-2023 budget, the spokesman said, and they are mainly to recruit and retain staff in regional, rural and remote towns.

The NSW Australian Medical Association said while they welcomed the state government's recruitment incentives, but it should include all clinicians, particularly doctors whose numbers are critically low in the bush.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare recent report citing findings by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2019 and the Department of Health in 2020, health services per 100,000 population in remote towns are down to 22 doctors available.

"Doctors are central to the provision of healthcare, and we need to ensure that measures aimed at building our regional health workforce are extended to all clinicians," said AMA president, Dr Michael Bonning.

"We are pleased to see the NSW Government is looking to bolster health staff through recruitment and retention incentives - having a strong health team will help attract doctors to work regionally.

"Extending extras such as study leave, accommodation, and training allowances to doctors will complement this strategy and strengthen the delivery of healthcare in regional and rural areas."

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Dr Bonning said doctors who are on training in regional areas are not provided with adequate support such as accommodation as they rotate between placements in hospitals.

"NSW has made clear that it accepts there is a need to improve healthcare access in rural NSW. We want to ensure that recruitment and retention measures targeted at doctors are a key plank of that plan," he said.

A parliamentary inquiry into rural health found residents in regional, rural and remote towns had "inferior access to health and hospital services which led to instances of patients receiving substandard levels of care".

Severe staffing deficiencies are the main reasons for the "substandard level of care" for regional area residents, the parliamentary report said.

The report contained 22 findings and 44 recommendations, including calls for the implementation of recruitment and retention measures to address health workforce shortages.

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