"I think it's wrong," Dubbo's Yvonne Hill said. "It's a big fail on behalf of the health system, to get rid of something so significant for our mob, out in our area,"

Marrabinya health service has care link workers in Dubbo (includes Wellington and Warren areas), Cowra, Forbes, Coonamble, Bourke, Brewarrina, and Bathurst.

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When Ms Hill was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018, she was lost. Nobody close to her had ever been affected by chronic disease and she didn't know what to do. Her daughter found Marrabinya and reached out for support.

Desley Mason, care worker at Marrabinya Dubbo, worked closely with Ms Hill to help her with radiation treatment.

"People think it's just finances and it's not, there were times I would come home and Desley would be on the phone saying, 'How are you going? Were you all okay? Do you need anything else? Is there any other way that we can support you?'," Ms Hill said.

"It's hard for a lot of Aboriginal people to ask for help.

"To actually see an Aboriginal organisation to be able to go to as an Aboriginal person and an elderly person... it's a really good support [system] that I wouldn't have been able to do without."

WNSWPHN has said the Commonwealth's funding for Marrabinya will now go towards Aboriginal Medical Services in the region starting January 1, 2023.

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More than 1,800 people have also signed a petition to save the Marrabinya's program.

Goodooga's Catherine Britt has been a cancer patient since 2000, she also has a stent in her heart and type two diabetes. Most of the people in her community are elderly with chronic diseases. She said her town was "very isolated as far as health goes".

"To lose something like Marrabinya is just unreal. We need them, the support from their staff is unreal." she said. "Without their help, we would not cope."

The Daily Liberal has been in touch with WNSWPHN for information about communities that were consulted over the decision to drop Marrabinya and specific improvements made to the new program. WNSW PHN has not responded.

A spokesperson for Dubbo MP Dugald Saunders said the matter was referred to his federal counterpart Mark Coulton as WNSWPHN was a federal matter.

"I don't believe that it is fair to assume that services will be reduced given the information which is currently available," Mr Coulton said.

He also said he would hold the WNSWPHN accountable to the assurance of an improved program and would be interested to hear feedback from affected parties as the program is transitioned to new providers.

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Ms Britt shared her experience with the Aboriginal Medical Services in Goodooga.

"The hours have been cut right back. We've practically got nothing, we were a hospital but now cut down to a medical service from 9am to 3pm, five days a week," she said.

She is worried about wait times and how patients will be prioritised.

Ms Britt wanted government officials to come to Goodooga and "see for themselves what people have to put up with".

"For the government to make any decisions, they really need to go out and just see what [it's] like," she said.

Manager of Marrabinya in Dubbo, Donna Jeffries said they reached out to federal ministers for health, Mark Butler, and Indigenous affairs, Linda Burney, about continuing the service. They also contacted local members of parliament Michael McCormack, Andrew Gee, and Helen Dalton. Marrabinya said they did not receive a response from the MPs.

Daily Liberal has reached out to mentioned ministers for comment on the subject.

On August 19, Marrabinya and its supporters will be holding a peaceful protest march starting from Dubbo's Rotunda.

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