As the clock races towards Federal polling day, the issue of health is emerging as a big ticket item - nowhere moreso than in the regions.
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Health is an issue that is often hand-balled back and forth between State and Federal governments, but protestations of "that's not my job" matter little to those of us living in the real world.
We want more rural GPs, we want better access to specialist services, we want shorter waiting times for elective surgery and we want an aged care system that delivers high quality, compassionate care for the elders in our community.
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The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) is also keen that those of us living in rural and remote Australia make sure the candidates know we are watching this issue.
RDAA President, Dr Megan Belot, (pictured) said the rural health system continues to struggle with workforce shortages and poor funding, as well as continued cuts to Medicare.
Dr Belot has urged both the Coalition and Labor to commit to taking urgent and real action to ensure rural Australians have a health system with a viable future.
"We urge rural voters not to be fooled by flashy, ribbon-cutting announcements about new hospital buildings or equipment," she said.
"It's no use having a shiny new hospital in town if there is no-one around to work in it.
"Crucially, we need a commitment that the major parties will reverse poor decisions to cut Medicare items that support quality care in rural communities."
The lobby group will be keeping tabs on the promises made by the Coalition, Labor and other parties during the election campaign, and will issue a report card closer to polling day to help guide voters in their decisions at the ballot box.
In the lead up to the election campaign, and in response to a damning report, NSW established a dedicated arm of the State's health service to focus on rural and regional health.
The newly appointed minister said the new division will focus on recruitment to key healthcare roles in regional NSW.
The unions have claimed this is mere "window dressing", but perhaps the very creation of the new division means someone is listening. We now need to make sure we have the ears of those in power in Canberra after May 21.
