The Doctors 4 Mudgee (D4MR) campaign had a goal to attract ten doctors in the region in three years. They aren’t even 12 months in and they have already reached half their goal and reopened medical clinics that have had their doors closed for years.
Gulgong Medical Centre reopened last year, and now the Mudgee Medical Centre has reopened its books to new patients after nearly 18 months, a major turning point in the Mid-Western Region’s fight to address a critical GP shortage.
Doctors 4 Mudgee is a grassroots not-for-profit initiative supported by the three coal mines in the region, Yancoal’s Moolarben, Peabody’s Wilpinjong mine and Glencore’s Ulan operation. Their funding enabled D4MR to offer financial incentives, relocation support and a personalised lifestyle concierge service to incoming doctors and their families.
Program Coordinator Kate Day said they are blown away by what they have been able to achieve in just nine months.
“The results this project has fostered in less than a year, five GPs, half our original target, is unbelievable.
“The community is ecstatic, it has changed Gulgong – they’ve gone from none to now two amazing GPs who are also looking after the multipurpose centre and then for Mudgee to have three GPs and five new registrars its incredible.
“The support of the mining companies has been unmatched. We wouldn’t be able to do it without them. It just proves what can be done when communities come together and when you have a dynamic committee who has been given complete autonomy to drive this project which is full credit to the mines involved.
“They haven’t been putting pressure on us to get it done, we have the autonomy to run the project as we see fit and that has certainly helped these rapid results,” Kate said.
“The early success of D4MR demonstrates that strategic, community-backed initiatives can help bridge gaps where traditional systems have struggled to respond quickly enough.”
Kate said the GPs and their families who have moved into the Mid-Western region are loving their new home.
“It’s been great to see them move here with their families and help connect them with schools and sporting clubs, I really believe they feel at home here. It’s been positive on all accounts; the spouses and the families have welcomed the help of the concierge service in moving to a new community, because it can be quite daunting,” she said.
There are five more GP spots to fill, and there are hopes South Mudgee Surgery will be able to reopen its books if they can attract a GP there. There are some GPs getting close to retirement which Kate said is also something they’re keeping an eye on.
“The community seems happy with the results and appreciative of what the mines are doing to help create better healthcare for the Mid-Western region.”
Image caption: Dr Gayanee Kumarasinghe, Dr Lauren Dunstan, Dr Spun Kongsirituwong, Dr Sabah Saeed, Dr Nathan Heijstee and Dr Peta O’Brien, all commenced at Mudgee Medical Centre in early 2026.
