Tweed Hospital will have six new interns starting next month according to NSW Minister for Health Jillian Skinner.
A record 850 intern training positions have been made available in 49 hospitals and 15 GP practices across the state – an increase of 80 positions on this year.
“I’m pleased to say that every NSW university medical graduate who applied for an intern position in NSW received an offer, which is fabulous for the future of this state,” she said.
“These trainee doctors will now work on a rotating basis within a network of hospitals, which include tertiary level teaching hospitals and smaller regional or rural facilities, and will be exposed to a gamut of scenarios.
“There will be 57 interns in the network, some of whom will work over the next two years at The Tweed, Fairfield and Liverpool hospitals as well as the Cecil Hills Medical Centre, the Chipping Norton Medical Practice, the Musgrave Street Medical Centre in Coolangatta and the Union Street Family Medical Practice in Maclean,” she said.
There are 15 training networks in NSW. This year saw the creation of a new training network that incorporates Blacktown and Bathurst hospitals.
This new network recognises the expanding capacity and capability of these two hospitals as well as the rising demand for clinical services in these large centres. A total of 40 interns have been allocated to this network.
A total of 75 interns – up from 56 this year – will spend the majority of their training in rural hospitals, having secured positions through the Rural Preferential Recruitment Program.
They will work in the following hospitals:
- Dubbo Base Hospital
- The Tweed Hospital
- Port Macquarie Base Hospital
- Albury campus of Albury Wodonga Health
- Lismore Base Hospital
- Wagga Wagga Base Hospital
- Tamworth Rural Referral Hospital
- Manning Rural Referral Hospital
- The Maitland Hospital
- Coffs Harbour Health Campus
- Orange Health Service
“It is fantastic to see so many interns keen to spend time in our regional and rural areas. The challenge now is to encourage them to stay on and serve these needy communities,’’ Mrs Skinner said.
The rise in medical graduates reflects the increasing number of university medical schools graduating new doctors in NSW.
This year saw graduates from the University of Western Sydney and Notre Dame add to the existing pool of graduates from the University of NSW, the University of Sydney, the University of Wollongong and the University of Newcastle.
Member for Tweed, Geoff Provest, said the number of graduates allocated to the Tweed was heartening.
“This is another strong example of the NSW Government’s commitment to regional health. The Tweed is a great place to live, work and raise a family,” Mr Provest said.
“There aren’t many other regional centres where you can sneak in a surf before or after your shift.
“We know that our area has been neglected in the past. It’s great to see new men and women on the frontline of our local health service,” he said.
