'Band-aid on a bullet hole' Greens MP Cohn talks regional health

"The critical issues in NSW right now are pay and conditions for health workers."

Dr Cohn has been on a regional tour of the New England talking about health issues and said measures by the NSW State Government were a band-aid fix to underlying issues.

"We're seeing some steps in the right direction from the new NSW government, but it feels like putting a band-aid on a bullet hole when the fundamental issue is staffing and workforce," Dr Cohn said.

Tamworth hospital is operating with less than half the midwifery staff it has capacity for, with unions saying the staffing shortage is in part on the state's low pay compared to Queensland.

"We're looking at nurses taking industrial action again, public hospital doctors are about to take industrial action for the first time in a generation," Dr Cohn said.

"We really need to listen to the health workers on the front line and give them the pay and conditions they deserve so they can do what they're trained to do and care for us."

She said the situation was worsened for regions like the New England and her own area of Albury, straddling the border when Queensland and Victoria offer better pay packets to health staff.

"Nurses, junior doctors and allied health professionals get paid more in other states and we're seeing this exodus - which is exacerbated up here being so close to the border," Dr Cohn said on Friday.

"We were just hearing today that allied health professionals like physios make $10,000 more per year in Queensland.

"Until we get pay and conditions right here in NSW we're going to continue to rearrange the deck chairs on the titanic."

She said investments in some services by the State Government were a good step, but no projects would be effective until pay and staffing levels are addressed.

Dr Cohn said she had spoken with members from Attract, Connect, Stay, an advocacy group aimed at securing medical and specialist services in Glen Innes and Inverell and praised their efforts.

"Programs like Attract Connect Stay are absolutely the right idea, because health workers are whole people and when they make a choice to move to a region it's not just about the job they're going to have - they need be able to do their hobbies, play sport, have jobs for their families and schools for their kids," she said.

"Finding those opportunities for them to enjoy long-term living in that community is absolutely the right approach."

She said one of the hurdles for getting specialists out of the cities was the perception of livability in the regions.

"Attract Connect Stay is a beautiful example of grass roots community leadership on this issue. I understand the LHD now has a medical concierge role with a similar aim, but that's very new, it's only started in the last few weeks, so there is absolutely more that the state government could be doing to support that work."

She said she had also heard concerns from communities like Moree and to a lesser extent Inverell about the Local Health District.

"I can understand the community sentiment of people wanting decisions to be made closer to home, but it's important to weigh that up against the potential risks of ending up with a Local Health District without a tertiary hospital like John Hunter - for example you wouldn't be able to share rosters with specialists in a big hospital like Newcastle where its much easier to attract staff.

"It's really important to have good communication between hospitals and education and professional support for doctors working in small communities, that can be easier when it's all connected when people work shifts at different hospitals or when you've got the same manager for a department across those hospitals, so I think that has to be balanced against where those decisions end up being made."