About 60 people attended a meeting hosted by the North Coast Primary Healthcare Network and attended by representatives from the Rural Doctors’ Network.

The meeting at the community hall was organised to hear from the Stuarts Point residents what their main health needs and concerns are, and not surprisingly a GP was top of the list.

The need for increased medical services has been at the top of the agenda for SPADCO (Stuarts Point and District Community Organisation) for many years.

SPADCO president Des Breust has been in the role for only about 12 months, speaking before the meeting he said the issues facing Stuarts Point residents are fairly constant.

“When I took over I looked at all the old documents to see what were the issues people were worried about 10 years ago and it came back to medical services and sewerage,” he said.

“Travelling times to get to a doctor in Kempsey or Macksville are an issue, particularly for the elderly and just getting in to see a doctor can be a problem.”

SPADCO undertook a survey earlier in the year to confirm whether the priorities remained the same, with a spectacular return rate of more than 30 per cent.

“The survey was a valuable exercise, to have a participation rate of 30 percent is outstanding, a rate of 10 per cent to be a big success so we were very happy with the outcome,” Mr Breust said.

“The process to obtain the funding to get a doctor to the town is done on a needs basis so there is a formal process which we are just starting to look at.

“The Kempsey Shire Council have been very encouraging in their support so far and they have indicated that they will give us all the help they can in proceeding toward making an application for funding a doctor.

“They have also indicated that they would help out with lease arrangements if the idea of a community health centre next to the current hall which would be on crown land goes ahead.”