A region of more than 80,000 people in southern NSW is being promised two bone surgeons after a 20-year wait, but advocates say it is still unclear when they will start and the level of care they will provide.
People who break a bone in Griffith or the western Riverina currently have to travel hundreds of kilometres to Wagga Wagga for treatment.
Independent Murray MP Helen Dalton said children in Hay who broke their arms playing sport on a Saturday had to endure a "traumatic" three-hour trip.
"When they go to Wagga, the waiting room for getting bones set is full of people that should be attending Griffith Base Hospital because that's their closest hospital," she said.
This week, the Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) confirmed two orthopaedic surgeons had been appointed at Griffith Base Hospital, which is based in a town of 30,000 people but services a further 80,000 from the surrounding area.
In a statement, the MLHD said the surgeons would support the delivery of elective surgery, provide services in a new fracture clinic and conduct appropriate emergency orthopaedic surgery.
It said the surgeons would start their orientation later this month, but Ms Dalton said she was told the surgeons will not start until later this year.
"I had a meeting with the outgoing general manager of Griffith Base Hospital, and he confirmed to me that we would have two orthopaedic surgeons operating by the end of the year," Ms Dalton said.
'Devil in the detail'
Griffith health advocate Brendan Catanzariti commended the MLHD for recruiting two orthopaedic surgeons but said there were still unanswered questions.
"I've read their statement, and the devil is in the details," he said.
"I think it's going to be limited servicing of public patients. It's not 24/7 care, which Griffith absolutely deserves and has been screaming out for the last 10 years.
Decade-long campaign
The former long-serving mayor of Griffith, John Dal Broi, last remembers having bone surgeons in Griffith 20 years ago.
He said a community push to have them returned gathered momentum 10 years ago.
"It really intensified when I was re-elected in 2012. We were receiving a lot of concerns from within the community," he said.
Mr Dal Broi said it was likely the campaign took so long because surgeons chose to practice on the coast rather than in Griffith.
"It's been a long campaign, but it's good to see that we have now achieved some results," he said.
Ms Dalton agreed.
New operating theatres, designed for orthopaedic surgery, are under construction as part of the $250 million Griffith Base Hospital redevelopment, which is set to finish in 2025.
