Carolyn Hutchison says she and other MND sufferers have to drive to Melbourne for appointments as short as 20 minutes because the one part-time neurologist in Bendigo does not specialise in the condition.

“There’s a few other people here in Bendigo with MND who also travel down and see the same neurologist,” she says.

“They try and do a lot of appointments while we’re down there so it’s a whole day out travelling and when you’re already tired, having to get up at 7.30 in the morning for an appointment at 10.30 is just crazy and you don’t get home until after dinner.”

Ms Hutchison says her Melbourne neurologist can sometimes speak to her via video link, but there are times when she has no choice but to make the trip, even though her condition means she is unable to drive and has to rely on family to get her there.

Ms Hutchinson’s 18-year-old son, Zamien, also travels to Melbourne for neurology appointments after suffering a stroke as a child resulting from complications from cancer, and she says even having a part time Bendigo-based doctor would make a big difference for both of them.

“He’s also linked up with [the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre] but Peter Mac actually come up to Bendigo every six months, so we can have our Peter Mac appointments here but we can’t see the neurosurgeon,” she says.

“We’ve got this beautiful big new hospital and we just don’t have the staff, it just seems a shame, it really does.”

Ms Hutchison says she is aware of at least four other patients in the region who all have to drive to Melbourne to see the same neurologist.

“We have an MND meet-up every month … and there’s a gentleman that comes from Castlemaine, there’s myself, there’s [another man] and a lady who comes from Rochester as well and we’re hoping to get a new member soon,” she says.

“So there’s at least five of us that are within this area that could benefit from a neurologist if he visited Bendigo.”

A Bendigo Health spokeswoman said while the hospital did not have a neurologist on staff, it had “a number of physicians with extensive neurology expertise”.

“As part of the development of our next strategic plan, Bendigo Health is currently undertaking extensive planning regarding our service delivery profile for the future to ensure we continue to play our role in the state-wide service delivery framework,” she said.

St John of God Hospital Bendigo was contacted for comment.