Doctor David Sutherland brings years of rural medical experience to the centre having practiced at locations across regional NSW.

Doctor Sutherland and his wife Jennifer have moved to the coast having spent the better part of 30 years in North West NSW.

"I've done several locums here previously and basically we were looking for a place that offered a good medical practice as well as being a beautiful spot to live," Doctor Sutherland said.

"From a medical point of view this area has an opportunity for a doctor to face the challenge of access to services while working with a high level of responsibility.

"At the same time it's still close enough to the bigger centres to have reasonable social outlets."

Doctor Sutherland spent 17 years as a GP in Bourke before leaving at the end of 1994 to establish the Rural Health Unit of the University at NSW.

"I decided to help facilitate rural students into medicine and give non-rural students experience in regional medicine," he said.

In recent years Doctor Sutherland has again been based in North West NSW, assisting at various locations, while at the same time attempting to find a place to settle permanently.

"I'd been working mainly at Coonamble, but also a number of other sites, wondering where to start up a permanent practice,' he said.

"Then when Karen and Martin left, the previous full-time doctors at the medical centre, this seemed like the obvious place to relocate to."

Doctor Sutherland said both he and Jennifer, who is a registered nurse, were looking forward to working and living in the area as well as making some new acquaintances.