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Forbes Medicine & Mind

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Forbes, NSW
Forbes Medicine & Mind

A multi-disciplinary family practice - GP, psychology, pathology collection & visiting allied health

16/11/2025

We’re excited to let you know that the huge potholes in our street are being repaired this week. Unfortunately that means that car parking in front of the practice will be impacted until Wednesday 19 November. Please keep this in mind when attending your appointment.

15/11/2025

It’s funny the difference a year can make. I said this a lot after our first flood-a-versary. It was my way of trying to focus on the good that had happened since that horrible November of 2022.

This year though, it was my 12 year old son who asked me how I felt about the flood-a-versary as we did our usual goodnight routine. It was then that I realised what a difference three years makes!

I can’t begin to tell you what a stupid decision it was for us to ‘go again’ and self-fund the refurbishment of our practice. Stupid, on paper that is. At the time general practice as a profession was on its knees (and still is in many ways) and this is further compounded by our rural location with chronic workforce shortages. There was - and still is - a cost of living crisis. The flood “renovation” cost as much as the entire re-development and fit out of the practice some 4 years earlier.

Then there was the complete and utter failure of our government to recognize the critical role primary care providers (like us) played in natural disaster recovery & how small communities not only deserve access to GPs, they NEED them more more than ever during tough times. Their sheer refusal to acknowledge the role we played as an essential service & support affected practices in our region despite there being a precedent for this is something I may never fully get over.

Which brings me to the reason we are here three years later despite the financial and political optics of it. We aren’t in this for the money. Sure we need to be viable, & we need to ensure that staff have work/life balance, but beyond that we are here because this matters so much to us. We are here because we belong to this community & how this turns out for everyone is how this turns out for our own families. We are here because we are passionate about training & showcasing the depth & diversity that rural medicine can offer to next generation of doctors. We are here because there really isn’t any other place we’d rather be.

Not everyone will get to test how much skin they really have in the game that we call business. I feel proud to say that we have a lot. I also hope we never ever have to test that again!

04/11/2025

👋 Meet Sarah Russell – our newest team member at MAM!

Sarah is a physiotherapist that brings a wealth of experience in orthopaedics and fracture management, with a special focus on hand therapy 🤲. After completing her Fellowship in Hand Therapy at Royal North Shore Hospital, she’s now offering her highly specialised skills to the Central West.

If you’ve had a hand or wrist injury, fracture, or recent surgery, Sarah can help you recover faster and stronger.

📅 Available Monday’s (from 24 Nov)
☎️ 6852 2667
No referral necessary

31/10/2025

INTRODUCING // Sarah Russell

This has been many months in the making and we are delighted to announce that Sarah is joining the team on Monday’s as a physiotherapist.

Sarah isn’t your regular Physio. Whilst she has experience in a wide variety of physiotherapy fields her work has predominantly focused around orthopaedics and fracture management. More specifically, hands 🤲 having completed a Fellowship in Hand Therapy from Royal North Shore Hospital in 2022.

Having worked in the public sector her entire career Sarah is looking forward to offering a unique and highly specialized hand therapy service to the Central West.

She now taking appointments for a range of services including:

~ Hand therapy (including post surgical management)
~ Management of hand based conditions (fractures, mallet injuries, ligament and muscle injuries, joint stiffness and overuse injuries)
~ Acute orthopaedic management (post operative joints and injuries)
~ Acute injury diagnostic assessment & management
~ Fracture management including waterproof casting

Please join us in welcoming Sarah to the team at MAM 👏

28/10/2025

We have SIX full body skin check appointments available with Dr Draper on Wednesday 5 November.

These fill very fast.

For bookings 👇
☎️ 6852 2667 or join the waitlist to be contacted when further dates are released.

29/09/2025

Our doctors are all taking a brief break next week to recharge and reset before we head into a busy last quarter for 2025 (I can’t believe we are almost there!)

That means the practice will be closed from 5pm this Friday 3rd October and will reopen at 8.30am on Monday 13th October.

There are still appointments available with Dr Naomi and Dr Erin this week and you can book online below 👇 or call reception on 6852 2667

https://www.hotdoc.com.au/medical-centres/forbes-NSW-2871/forbes-medicine-mind/doctors

15/09/2025

S K I N C H E C K S w/ Dr Draper are back!

We are constantly asked if people who are not an existing patient of our practice can book in for a full body skin check. Well you’re in luck! We are opening up some skin check clinics in September and October to ALL 👏

What’s the catch?
🔎 Only a very limited number of spots available
🔎 We are unable to manage your ongoing care which means Dr Draper will only able to perform the skin check and any subsequent biopsies or excisions that might be recommended including any aftercare.

When: September 24 & October 22
Investment: $165 for the full body skin check (Medicare rebate of $43.90 - $84.90). A $65 deposit which is deducted from the balance payable on the day is required at the time of booking.
What: A comprehensive full body skin check (you leave your underwear on) which includes photographing any suspicious spots or moles. Dr Draper will then discuss any recommendations with you and if necessary offer you the option of booking into one our procedure clinics at a later date to have any biopsies or excisions done or refer you to a specialist dermatologist if required.
Bookings: Phone our reception team on 6852 2667

And here are some startling statistics to get you thinking about why it’s so important to have an annual skin check:

➡️ Australia has one of the highest skin cancer rates in the world!

➡️ 2 out 3 Australians will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer in their lifetime.

➡️ Skin cancer causes 2000 deaths each year in Australia.

➡️ In 2024 there were approximately 18,964 new cases of melanoma diagnosed.

Regular skin checks with a trained doctor along with frequent self checks and monitoring any skin changes remain one of the most effective and ways to ensure early detection of skin cancer.

Don’t forget to tag a friends and family below 👇

27/08/2025

I really can’t believe we are able to say this, but thanks to the recent arrival of our two lovely GP Registrars - Dr Erin and Dr Naomi - we can now offer same day appointments 👏👏👏

As many of you know, it’s been a really, really long time since we have been able to do that - too long to be honest.

We have had a lot people ask if this means we are accepting new patients and unfortunately at this stage we aren’t able to. That decision hasn’t been made lightly, but it is necessary to ensure that our patient caseload remains manageable for Dr Draper once our GP registrars move on to continue their specialist training in another community.

Our mission when we opened MAM was to offer the highest quality care to our patients by a team that genuinely cared. That meant offering patients continuity of care, reasonable access to appointments and embedding a multi-disciplinary approach as the standard model of care at our practice.

In recent times due to doctor shortages and in particular Forbes and Parkes, it has been extremely difficult to offer reasonable access to appointments, especially when Dr Draper was working as a solo-practitioner.

That’s why we are delighted to be able to offer our patients same-day GP appointments once again. It’s also why we aren’t able to take on new patients at this point - because we take being your family doctor very seriously and if we do it, we want to do it well. For us, doing it well means being able to do it in a sustainable way for our incredible clinicians who work tirelessly for our community.

So, for our patients that have been putting off that visit to the doctor now is really good time to make an appointment because there is lots of flexibility - including some before and after school time slots which we know are always highly sought after. The easiest way to book is via the link below 👇 or on the HotDoc app.

https://www.hotdoc.com.au/medical-centres/forbes-NSW-2871/forbes-medicine-mind/doctors

24/08/2025

Introducing Dr Naomi Goonetilleke 👏

We are beyond excited to welcome Dr Naomi to our practice as a GP Registrar. She is able to support our patients with all aspects of primary care, including chronic disease management, mental health, women’s health, acute illness and general health checks, just to name a few.

Those of you who have already met Dr Naomi will be able to attest to her friendly and warm bedside manner. She has same-day appointments available most days, which we are delighted to be able to offer our patients once again.

Book online via the link below or on the HotDoc app by searching ‘Forbes Medicine and Mind’.

https://www.hotdoc.com.au/medical-centres/forbes-NSW-2871/forbes-medicine-mind/doctors/dr-naomi-goonetilleke

19/08/2025

For the first time this year we are able to offer same day appointments 👏👏 and gosh it feels good!

We have two fantastic GP registrars working under the direct supervision of Dr Draper - Dr Erin and Dr Naomi - and both doctors have appointments available most days.

So if you’ve been holding off on booking a visit because we haven’t had a time that suits you we now have appointments available from 8.15am and as late as 5.15pm.

Existing patients are able book online via the link below or in the HotDoc app

https://www.hotdoc.com.au/medical-centres/forbes-NSW-2871/forbes-medicine-mind/doctors

04/08/2025

W E L C O M E // to our new GP registrars Dr Erin McKenna and Dr Naomi Goonetilleke.

Dr Erin has relocated from Dubbo and Dr Naomi from Sydney and will be working under the supervision of Dr Draper for the next six months. Both doctors are excited to be working in a rural community and are looking forward to getting to meet our patients over the coming months.

They have appointments available from next week with online bookings available 24/7 via HotDoc for existing patients only.

Please join us in welcoming Dr Erin and Dr Naomi 👏

27/07/2025

We still cannot believe that we’re welcoming two GP registrars to Forbes next week. Feeling very lucky!

Our second trainee is Dr Naomi Goonetilleke.

Dr Goonetilleke grew up in Sydney and studied medicine at Western Sydney University, followed by two years of hospital training at Westmead Hospital.

She chose to pursue general practice as a specialty because of the variety it brings and the opportunity to make a difference in patients’ everyday health. She also loves the continuity of care and being able to build long term connections with patients and their families.

“In my spare time, I love being out in nature and getting some sunshine, exploring new places and finding my favourite food spots. I’m really looking forward to exploring Forbes and getting to know the local community. I’m excited to learn from and contribute to the broad range of rural medicine, and I look forward to joining the team!”

Bookings are now available for existing patients only with Dr Goonetilleke from Monday 11 August.

Address

12 Cross Street
Forbes, NSW
2871

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.medicineandmind.com.au/

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