It may be a small practice in a rural village, but Cobargo Doctors is operating on a national stage.
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Doctors Nghia Tran and Tracey Lucas-Ramadan are celebrating the recent announcement of a shortlist for Australian rural and remote GP of the year, of which they are one of only three finalists in the country.
With the other two from Queensland, regardless of the final outcome it could be inferred Cobargo’s is the best rural practice in the state.
The recognition is via Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited (AGPAL), the national body tasked with accrediting GPs.
Dr Tran said they were incredibly proud to be named as a finalist and particularly thanked the wider community for its support.
“Hopefully people see this as a sign that no matter where you are you have access to quality healthcare,” he said.
Dr Tran said the Cobargo practice sees patients from as far as Batemans Bay, Eden and Bibbenluke, believing word of mouth as to its quality service was behind its success.
The AGPAL award in particular acknowledges innovation in regional healthcare.
Dr Tran and Dr Lucas-Ramadan said they prided themselves on the services they were able to provide at Cobargo.
“One of the big things we’ve been keen to do is make sure we can offer access to a certain level of healthcare,” Dr Tran said.
“It’s a matter of having systems in place, resources and the right staff.”
Dr Tran said examples would be fractures or eye injuries – understandably common in rural areas – where rather than referrals to a hospital emergency department, they could be dealt with by Cobargo’s GPs.
“We manage as much as we can locally to save people time and inconvenience.”
Group chief executive of AGPAL Dr Stephen Clark congratulated Cobargo Doctors on being named a finalist, and thanked all practices who shared their inspiring and innovative stories of quality improvement.
The AGPAL Excellence Awards will be presented at a gala dinner in Brisbane on Friday, May 27.
