Regional healthcare collapse in Port Macquarie due to specialist shortages and funding failures
Consensus Summary
The articles detail the collapse of regional healthcare in Port Macquarie, driven by chronic underfunding and specialist shortages. A gastroenterologist, who spent 15 years leading the department at Port Macquarie Base Hospital, was terminated in January 2026 after repeated warnings from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians about unsafe staffing levels. The district has consistently rejected hiring additional specialists since at least December 2019, despite documented risks to patient safety and training accreditation. The author highlights how a highly skilled hepatobiliary specialist worked for eight years without a public contract, leaving critical services like endoscopic ultrasound unavailable to public patients. Accreditation for gastroenterology training lapsed on April 1, 2026, following the loss of the department head, leaving a waiting list and forcing patients to travel long distances for care. The district’s response to warnings has been delayed or ignored, with emails to leadership going unanswered since early 2025. The articles emphasize that regional Australians, who are older and sicker than urban counterparts, face disproportionate barriers to specialist care due to systemic underfunding and bureaucratic inaction.
✓ Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- On March 4, 2025, a senior manager emailed that the district was 'not in a fiscal position to engage another gastroenterologist' and would 'revisit this on an annual basis'
- In December 2019, the district’s medical services director wrote that they were 'in no position to be recruiting a fourth gastroenterologist'
- In April 2020, the hospital’s general manager conceded in writing that understaffing was 'a risk to patient safety'
- In November 2024, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians found the public gastroenterology service relied on three visiting specialists whose sessions totalled 0.6 of one full-time position
- In June 2025, the college warned that if one supervisor left, the department would 'not fulfil accreditation requirements'
- On January 21, 2026, the author received three months’ notice of termination, effective April 1, 2026, coinciding with accreditation lapsing on April 1, 2026
- The district is cutting about 160 positions as per a ministry review
- The author recruited an outstanding hepatobiliary interventional endoscopist in 2017 who worked eight years without a public hospital contract
- The endoscopic ultrasound service left with the specialist in mid-2025, leaving public patients with suspected cancer to travel nearly three hours down the highway
- The Royal Australasian College of Physicians stated in April 2026 that 'Port Macquarie Base Hospital does not currently meet the minimum requirements for accreditation'
Source Articles
I’m among the doctors our system rejects. This is why regional healthcare is dying
We are told the regions cannot attract specialists. This is not true. They cannot keep them.
I’m among the doctors our system rejects. This is why regional healthcare is dying
We are told the regions cannot attract specialists. This is not true. They cannot keep them.