The NSW Labor Opposition on Thursday renewed its call for an urgent independent inquiry into rural and regional health after the death of a patient at Tenterfield Hospital when a doctor was not in attendance.
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"Our health outcomes should not be determined by our postcode," Shadow Minister for Health Ryan Park said.
"It is clear that an independent inquiry is needed when it comes to rural and regional health. It's simply unforgivable that there are hospitals with no full-time on-site doctors right across rural and regional NSW.
"Inevitably, as we have seen with this death, the consequences are tragic."
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Shadow Minister for Rural Health Kate Washington said that without doctors on site at hospitals, nurses are under too much pressure and patients are at risk.
"People living in rural and regional NSW are angry and scared. Residents have a right to expect something that should be very simple - doctors at their hospitals."
State Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin offered her condolences and sympathies to the male patient's family and friends.
"This is a tragic outcome at a time when Tenterfield Hospital staff are under enormous pressure staffing-wise," Ms Saffin said.
"I support the local staff at the hospital who provide the best care for our local community.
"The community rightly expects, and deserves, to be able to see a doctor, whether it is the medical officer or a locum doctor, when admitted to their hospital's new Emergency Department."
