Health leaders gathered in Lismore on Friday 16 September for an emergency summit to urge State and Federal Government to immediately support healthcare services in the region.
In an unprecedented show of solidarity, representatives from the AMA, the Pharmacy Guild, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, the NSW Rural Doctors Network, and the Rural Doctors Association of NSW called for the provision of immediate grant funding to healthcare providers that were impacted by floods earlier this year.
"It's been more than six months since the floods devastated the region and many healthcare service providers have yet to recover," said AMA President, Professor Steve Robson.
"In between peeling paint from ceilings and ripping up lino from floors, these health service providers are trying to heal a community that continues to be deeply traumatised by natural disaster.
"General practitioners, pharmacists, medical specialist private practice owners, and allied health providers face significant financial losses. In addition to sustaining structural damage to their workplaces, they lost specialist medical diagnostic and treatment equipment, consult beds, pharmacy dispensary storage, and more. Many owners face damages tallying upwards of $1m.
"Governments need to act now to ensure Lismore retains a vibrant medical community," Professor Robson said.
The health organisations are urging the funding of the NSW Rural Doctors Network's (RDN) Healthcare Flood Recovery Grant Proposal, which would create a Northern Rivers healthcare business grant.
You can read the AMA NSW media release here.
