Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall has given notice he will move a motion in state parliament calling for the local health district chief executive to be sacked if the region's hospitals are not properly staffed.
The motion will also call for a "comprehensive" investigation into splitting the mammoth Hunter New England Health District into two.
"It's a reflection of what the communities across our region want to see, and the nurses and other staff that work within our hospitals, it's what they want to see," Mr Marshall said.
Push to separate health district into two
In his motion to be presented in parliament, Mr Marshall expressed "deep concern of the approach of [the chief executive] in cannibalising health services and staff from outlying facilities to support the district's hub at Newcastle".
The New England Joint Organisation — a group of mayors from the region's councils — last week unanimously passed a motion to work out how the health district could be broken into two parts.
It wants to bring back a separate Hunter district and New England health department, which Mr Marshall said was the catalyst for his own motion.
"I'm not sure whether there is or is not merit in it … and that's why I put down there needs to be some sort of assessment or feasibility study done — a comprehensive one done quite quickly — to determine whether it would be advantageous for our region," he said.
Mr Marshall said going back to the New England area health model could transfer the head office back to Tamworth rather than Newcastle, which he said would take away the "Newcastle-centric" focus.
"Many people in the community, many staff that work in the health system have put that to me," he said.
Tamworth-based GP and professor at the University of Newcastle's Department of Rural Health, Jenny May, said she had her own questions about the motion.
"I have to be honest and say the challenges about delivering and supporting rural health workforce in general, they were there before COVID, and we need to really own that and take it on, and consider, have we got the model right?
"Are we training people and supporting people in communities with the right quantum of funding, and the right service model that will keep them there and keep them satisfied and keep them working for rural communities?"
The ABC has contacted Hunter New England Health for comment.
In a previous request, the district declined to comment to media on the matter, saying the organisation would respond through the political process.
