A song with a catchy 12-bar blues beat is at the heart of a promotional video soon to be launched to help attract new doctors to the Blackall-Tambo region.
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It's a joint initiative by the region's council and the Central West Hospital and Health Service, which has had four permanent senior medical officer positions vacant for several years.
Blackall-Tambo mayor Andrew Martin, fresh off his motorbike to bring in a mob of sheep for filming, said the video was something different and was a good way of showing the region wasn't a "wasteland full of rednecks in tin sheds" to prospective medicos.
"If it doesn't work, we'll have given it a bloody good crack," he said.
While not giving away the tune or the lyrics, Cr Martin said it had been written by Charleville's Scotty Mac and would get the message of how good it was to live in the western Queensland communities with a bit of rock and roll.
"I know Kerang in Victoria did something like this, using the words 'I want a GP' to a Queen tune," he said.
"We're going halves in the cost of the video with the CWHHS - it's not a lot of money when you consider some doctors are asking for $10,000 a day for locum services.
"It's going to be done by the bush, for the bush, in the bush."
Selling cattle at the saleyards, kids on horses at the polocrosse grounds, and chicken races are just some of the ways the community amenities at Blackall and Tambo, and the benefits of living and working in the area, will be highlighted in the video being filmed and produced by Telegraph Station Media.
Cr Martin said not only were Blackall and Tambo steeped in pioneering history, but the communities also produced some of the highest quality agricultural products in the nation.
"Our greatest asset however is our people, and we have a wonderfully vibrant, inclusive \community out here,'' he said.
"Our social lives can be almost impossibly busy. We may be remote, but we are most certainly \not isolated.
"So, my message to doctors and their families is, you'll love living here. Please come and join us and keep us healthy.''
CWHHS acting chief executive and executive director of medical services David Walker said the joint initiative with the council would supplement the ongoing formal recruitment program already in place through Queensland Health.
"We have been very fortunate that we have had access to our locums who have been delivering excellent services to the Blackall and Tambo communities while we have tried to recruit to these vacant positions,'' he said.
"But we know having permanent doctors available is a priority for the Blackall and Tambo communities and we are happy to work with council to help recruit new doctors to the area.
"As well as offering an attractive lifestyle, Blackall also offers doctors the opportunity to work in our new, state-of-the-art $20.11 million hospital and general practice that opened in November 2020.
"While we continue to recruit actively for permanent doctors through Queensland Health, we see the joint recruitment initiative between us and the council as an extension of our overall recruitment efforts.
"The more we can get the message out, the better."
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Sally Gall
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
Based at Blackall, CW Qld, where I've raised a family, run Merino sheep and beef cattle, and helped develop a region - its history, tourism, education and communications. Get in touch at 0427 575 955 if you've got a story idea for me.
