The Deepwater Medical Centre has a new lease of life with Tenterfield GP Dr Dumindu Dharmapala -- better known as Dr Dumi -- now running a clinic each Sunday.
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The clinic has had a patchy run since its official opening by MP Tim Bruxner in 1971, but thanks to the backing of Dr Mohan Siribaddana, director of Nimos Health Care who manages the Tenterfield Medical Centre, the outreach clinic is now in full swing.
READ MORE: Tenterfield Medical Centre welcomes Dr Dumi
Dr Siribaddana financed the reopening of the clinic and organised all the necessary equipment to see it functioning again.
It officially reopened on March 31, and ever since Dr Dumi has seen an increasing stream of patients not only from Deepwater but from the surrounding districts of Emmaville, Stannum and Torrington.
He said he is also seeing patients who travel up from Glen Innes, after they've had difficulty getting in to see busy local GPs, he's been told.
The clinic bulk bills its services so there is no cost to Medicare card holders. Dr Dumi is offering family practice, women's health, men's health, chronic care management as well as skin screening and management services.
Appointments can be made through the Tenterfield Medical Centre (phone 02 6736 0919) but walk-ins are also accepted. The clinic can be found at 25 Dundee Street.
Dr Dumi said he's there on Sunday from 9am until around 4 or 5pm, depending on demand. He sees around two dozen patients at each clinic, and this is besides his five-day-a-week commitment at the Tenterfield Medical Centre.
He said he's been receiving some great feedback, with people happy to be able to access GP services 'in the middle of nowhere'.
Otherwise even for a repeat script they're looking at something like 100 kilometres and half-a-day.
- Dr Dumindu Dharmapala
"Otherwise even for a repeat script they're looking at something like 100 kilometres and half-a-day."
Dr Dumi came to Tenterfield in early 2019 following nearly two years in an emergency room in Singapore and another 2.5 years as Registrar in Emergency Medicine at Blacktown Hospital in Sydney.
The move was driven by a desire to now focus on longer-term treatment rather than dealing with the aftermath of accidents. He's particularly interested in the non-communicable disease areas of diabetes, obesity, smoke, drug addition and similar.
"I want to be able to spend more time with my patients," he said.
