Health inquiry findings come as no surprise to region's doctors

The report, tabled in state parliament on Thursday, was the result of a year-long inquiry receiving 720 submissions and 15 hearings.

As a result of the findings, the upper house report made 44 recommendations, including an urgent review of the rural workforce and funding arrangements, along with better engagement with rural communities.

READ MORE: Rural and regional healthcare 'at breaking point'

Dr Ruth Arnold, a cardiologist based in Orange, was among those to put in a submission and appear before the inquiry, where she was critical of telehealth staffing and the fear of retribution on speaking out against the system.

She said on Friday the report simply confirmed what those working in the health system already know.

"That is that our current health system is not good enough in regional and rural areas, let's just be blunt," she said.

"There are a lot of deficiencies and I think the report has confirmed those.

"What we need to do now is take up some of those recommendations and make this better."

She said while the report made some good recommendations, they must be followed through.

"It's a federal and state issue in no uncertain terms and it will not be fixed in rural and regional areas without a complete overhaul of the federal and state model,' she said.

Dubbo psychologist and founder of the Macquarie Health Collective Dr Tanya Forster said that she was pleased to see that rural health services will be receiving attention after the release of the inquiry's findings, especially with a federal election approaching.

"This is a long standing issue, with no simple solution, but it is an issue that deserves significant attention and intervention," she told the Daily Liberal.

She also said that the regional health inquiry's latest report is an important step in the right direction, however, it was more important to see actions taken from it.

Bathurst Regional Councillor Warren Aubin, who is part of the city's Health Services Action Group, said the findings and recommendations detailed in the report reflect the issues that were raised about health services in Bathurst.

Among the findings were that rural, regional and remote patients have significantly poorer health outcomes, greater incidents of chronic disease and greater premature deaths when compared to their counterparts in metropolitan areas.

It was also found residents in rural, regional and remote New South Wales also have inferior access to health and hospital services, especially for those in remote areas.

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