The following article was in the Daily Telegraph today:

EXCLUSIVE by Kate Sikora

January 16, 2009 12:00am

A SURGEON flew his own plane to treat patients in a remote outback town yesterday after health officials turned down his offer to work free.

The 3000-strong town of Bourke was treated to a general surgeon for the first time in four years when Neil Meulman spent $1000 of his own money to make the trip.

Despite a newly-built hospital, locals are usually forced to travel 400km to Dubbo - an eight-hour return journey - for minor surgery.

But for the past 18 months, Dr Meulman has been wanting to provide an outreach service in Bourke.

Despite initially accepting his offer, the problem-plagued Greater Western Area Health Service this week refused his offer to fly in once a month for six months, free of charge.

"It's a lose-lose situation," he said. "I am offering my services free of charge and they are obstructing me."

About 30 patients queued outside Bourke's medical practice to see Dr Meulman. He has been denied access to the hospital and instead is filling out admission forms, preparing a waiting list of people who need surgical procedures such as vasectomies, lumpectomies and tumours and varicose veins removed.

Grandmother Christine Campbell, 62, will spend $400 every month for the year travelling to Sydney for follow-up procedures to an operation she had in December.

"If there was a surgeon here or Neil could stay then I wouldn't have to spend that much money and leave my family," she said. "The AHS is cutting its nose off to spite its face."

Before becoming a surgeon 14 years ago, Dr Meulman, who lives in Bathurst with his wife and three children, wanted to do humanitarian work. But he realised there was a greater need in his own backyard.

In a letter to Dr Meulman, area chief executive Claire Blizard said: "As previously advised a separate surgical service is not currently planned for Bourke.

"Until a decision is taken at Bourke, the AHS is unable to consider your offer of a free service."

Source: The Daily Telegraph 

My response was:

Thank you Dr Meulman! Our services in Bourke are declining rapidly. In Bourke we no longer are able to get our ultrasounds done here, our maternity ward is currently closed resulting in mums from Brewarrina, Cobar and Bourke travelling to Dubbo to have babies and pay $160 for an ultrasound that we could get on medicare.

BourkeHospital have previously turned down an offer from a local fundraising committee for a dialysis machine DONATED to them, this would not have occurred if we still had a Hospital Board.

We have a new hospital which has a theatre that is virtually unused due to lack of staff and now GWAHS' obvious lack of forsight or caring for the locals of the area. Here is an offer from a wonderful man to assist our Community which would surely benefit the hospital in turn but due to bureaucracy from "those who supposedly know best about Communities" like ours or is it just sheer stupidity.

Surely it is time for the CEO to actually wake up to herself and take a look beyond the hill leading out of Dubbo. Also the NSW Government - there are places further than the confines of Sydney that require assistance.  This is just the tip of the iceberg.