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Boggabri has welcomed two new doctors, a husband and wife team who are excited to have moved to the country.
Dr Nishad Gamage and Dr Oshadika (Oshi) Gunawardhana arrived with their 22-month-old daughter Senuli a fortnight ago.
The couple moved to Australia from Sri Lanka five years ago and had previously worked in Wollongong and the Central Coast before making the decision to experience rural life.
“We were looking for rural placements through the Rural Doctors Network and after coming to Boggabri we realised it was a nice little town,” said Dr Gamage, who has previous experience working for hospital emergency departments as a general practitioner.
Dr Oshi, who has also worked in hospital emergency departments as a general practitioner, specialises in mental health, and the couple hopes their vast experience will serve the Boggabri community well.
“Country life is the one thing that we wanted to experience, and the experience you can get being a country GP is totally different when you compare it with the metropolitan or city areas,” said Dr Gamage.
“People don’t choose to come to rural areas because of many commitments they’ve got, but we’ve only got a very small girl, who is two years old, so we didn’t have much of a problem in moving.”
The pair grew up in the Matara region in southern Sri Lanka and worked for three years at Colombo National Hospital.
They moved to Australia five years ago to seek a better life.
“I wanted to come to Australia where the lifestyle is much more balanced,” said Dr Gamage.
“Sri Lanka is a developing country so the lifestyle is much more different.”
Although it’s taking some time to adjust to the hot weather, they have already seen the benefits in moving.
“People are very nice to us, everyone says hi wherever we go, which has never happened in my life,” he said.
The pair joins current GP Dr Nazeer Ibralebbe at the Boggabri Medical Centre, which is attached to Boggabri Hospital.
