Australia’s health workforce still thins out with distance from the capital cities, and Western NSW a single health district covering almost 250,000 square kilometres carries more of that distance than most.
From today it has one more practitioner, with Function to Flow Chiropractic officially opening at 66 George Street. It is the new practice of Dr Janine Kinahan, an internationally trained chiropractor who now teaches other practitioners across Australia, the United States and Europe.
Across all registered health professions, major cities have 26.8 full-time-equivalent practitioners for every 1,000 people; in outer regional Australia that falls to 22.2. Allied health is the fastest growing part of the workforce, up 70 per cent between 2015 and 2024 but the growth is not evenly spread, and availability declines as remoteness increases.
Bathurst is among the faster-growing centres in the Central West, and as the town grows, the care available needs to grow too. Today the population sits around 45,400 and is forecast to reach roughly 52,400 by 20363.
Dr Janine Kinahan said:
“Regional families deserve access to the same calibre of care as the cities. The data backs up what I see every day — regional Australia has fewer health professionals per person than our cities do. Opening here in Bathurst is small part of closing that gap.”
Bathurst Mayor Robert Taylor said:
“We have a terrific array of local businesses in Bathurst, and it is fantastic to see it growing with the addition of Dr Janine’s new practice. I commend her for opening the doors of her new business and know that the Bathurst community will be grateful for her expertise found right here in our CBD.”
Dr Kinahan was joined at the opening by Bathurst Mayor Robert Taylor and the Member for Bathurst, Paul Toole MP, alongside invited civic and health figures from the Central West.
