The reopening of Gulgong's only general practitioner clinic after an 18-month closure highlights the deepening GP crisis affecting rural, regional and remote NSW, according to the president of Local Government NSW (LGNSW).

The return of GP services to Gulgong, 110km east of Dubbo, was the direct result of financial incentives and assistance provided by the “Doctors 4 Mudgee Region” initiative – supported by the Mid-Western Regional Council and three mining companies – which aims to attract 10 doctors to the Central West region over the next three years.

LGNSW president, Inner West Council mayor Darcy Byrne, said the Gulgong experience was being repeated across the state, with many towns either without a resident GP or facing severe shortages, forcing residents to travel hours for basic primary care.

“Dozens of rural, regional and remote councils are continuing to report the need for urgent action to ensure their communities have adequate access to GPs – a basic human right,” he said.

“Councils are increasingly stepping in to fill gaps in the provision of primary health care, often funding services that should sit with state and federal governments,” Cr Byrne added.

“But they can’t always fill those gaps and the human consequence is that thousands of citizens across NSW are simply missing out on seeing a doctor.”

A 2025 NSW parliamentary inquiry found rural and remote primary care is in crisis, with GP shortages predicted to worsen and more than 40 towns expected to lose their doctor by the end of the decade.

“Access to a GP shouldn’t depend on your postcode,” Cr Byrne continued.

“Communities are also dealing with closed birthing units, stretched emergency departments and short-term locum solutions that are costly for the government and lack stability and certainty for patients.

“The fact that local employers are having to fund and initiate programs to attract GPs to serve in their communities is a really worrying sign of the times,” he concluded.

Cr Byrne said LGNSW continued to take a strong position in the fight to ensure rural and regional communities had equitable access to health services.

LGNSW would like to see all 44 recommendations of the NSW parliamentary inquiry implemented, including addressing service delivery gaps; transport services to healthcare; growing the primary health sector; as well as workforce recruitment and retention strategies for doctors, nurses and other health professionals.