Western NSW Local Health District

The Western NSW Local Health District  covers 444,586 square kilometers, an area representing more than 55 per cent of the landmass of NSW.  While it is the biggest NSW health service in terms of landmass, it has the smallest population, approximately 305,000 people.  Over 8% of this population identify themselves as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.  This is significantly higher than the NSW average and is the highest percentage of Aboriginal people in any NSW area health service. 

The Western NSW LHD staff work in regional, rural and remote settings and in conjunction with the State's top tertiary hospitals and specialists.  There are two major non-metropolitan referral hospitals - Dubbo and Orange Base Hospitals and six district non-metropolitan hospitals - Bathurst, Broken Hill, Cowra, Forbes, Mudgee and Parkes. Orange Base Hospital is currently being redeveloped to incorporate a state of the art health facility that is currently under construction. Included into this large redevelopment is a new forensic mental health unit.

Western NSW LHD is affiliated with the University of Sydney Medical School and is home to the University Department of Rural Health in Broken Hill and the NSW Rural Institute of Clinical Research and Training.  The Rural Clinical School also has campuses in Dubbo and Orange. The School of Rural Health has campuses in Bathurst and Broken Hill.  The University of Newcastle has established the Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health in the grounds of Bloomfield Hospital in Orange- the site of the construction of the new health facility. 

Western NSW LHD has 108 public health facilities, including 33 hospitals, 16 multi-purpose services and 59 community health centres.  There are four major rural referral hospitals - Bathurst, Orange, Dubbo and Broken Hill. Bathurst and Orange Health Services are considered a networked rural referral service.  There are four district health services - Cowra, Forbes, Mudgee and Parkes.  

Medical speciality services throughout the area include: 

General Medicine; Oncology/Haematology; Nephrology; Gastroenterology; Cardiology; Surgery; Respiratory Medicine; Ophthalmology; Orthopaedics; Anaesthetics; Obstetrics and Gynaecology; Psychiatry; Emergency Medicine; Pathology and Paediatrics.  This range of services allows for staff to either practice in their chosen speciality area or follow a career path in more generalised areas. 

At June 2009, the service employed approximately 4,851 full-time equivalent staff (FTE) - 67.1 per cent of whom were classified as medical, nursing, allied health staff, oral health workers, scientific and technical support staff and other health professionals.

Great Western Area Town Booklets

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