MLHD’s acting chief executive Carla Bailey answered questions on paediatrics alongside NSW Health deputy secretary Luke Sloane (left) and MLHD board chair Adrian Lindner. Photo: NSW Legislative Assembly.
The Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) says it is “actively recruiting” a new head paediatrician at Griffith Base Hospital, as children face waiting times of up to two years for care, an inquiry has heard.
A parliamentary inquiry into Helen Dalton’s push to split Griffith Base Hospital from its Wagga-based administrators at MLHD has exposed major healthcare gaps, with patients often forced to travel hundreds of kilometres for orthopaedics, rehab, mental health and paediatric care.
At a hearing earlier this month, health advocate Virginia Tropeano criticised MLHD for failing to replace long-serving paediatrician Professor Maxwell Hopp, who died in September 2025.
“The community is up in arms. It’s a two-year wait to see somebody in Wagga, and some of these kids have life-threatening conditions. Are there plans to replace [Professor Hopp]?” Mrs Dalton asked MLHD bureaucrats at a hearing on Monday (30 March).
MLHD acting chief executive Carla Bailey responded: “We are actively recruiting for a replacement paediatrician for Dr Hopp. We do have a candidate that has applied for the position at the moment and we are just working through the process.”
She said that in the meantime, MLHD was helping connect Griffith families with paediatricians in Wagga.
However, multiple local mothers have told Region that those referrals were often ineffective – with some families being turned away altogether, while others faced extremely long waiting lists.
Griffith mum Baillee French said she had been unable to secure an appointment for her four-year-old son Jasper for up to 24 months.
Baillee has struggled to secure an appointment for Jasper. Photo: Supplied.
She said MLHD should have had a succession plan in place for Professor Hopp, who was 72.
“Even without this tragedy, he could have become ill or eventually retired — but they didn’t seem to prepare at all,” Ms French said.
In a statement, MLHD said locum paediatricians had continued to support the community while recruitment was underway, and that Griffith Base Hospital still ran weekly public paediatric clinics.
But Ms French said relying on locums was no substitute for a permanent specialist.
“Children don’t build a rapport or relationship with a locum,” she said.
“They can’t do that when they’re relying on notes. My youngest child is very uncomfortable with strangers.”
MLHD said parents continued to be supported by a private clinic in Griffith.
“The clinic is run with a nurse practitioner who is supported virtually by paediatricians in private practice from Wagga Wagga,” a spokesperson said.
“Griffith families who need to see a paediatrician can request a referral from their general practitioner (GP).”
The tense parliamentary inquiry hearing saw Mrs Dalton regularly clash with the bureaucrats on the panel, who argued that splitting the MLHD would not solve Griffith’s health problems.
“The real pressures around workforce shortage, ageing populations etc are the realities of rural and regional health and those challenges will remain regardless of whether there is a boundary change or not,” Ms Bailey said.
