Julie Creek, Queensland, desperate for a doctor is offering a $500K salary and a free HOUSE 

A small outback town is so desperate for a doctor to work there full-time that it’s now offering over half a million dollars and free housing to the successful candidate.

Julia Creek in central North Queensland, 600 km west of Townsville, offers a base salary of between $400,000 and $514,000 for the right person and also promises to help find a GP partner job.

This is significantly higher than the average primary care physician salary of $175,000, according to tax office data for 2019-20.

North West Hospital and Health Service, which coordinates medical appointments for those in the city, also offers five weeks of annual leave in the job package each year.

The municipality is also doing its best, offering the new doctor a brand new four-bedroom rental home in the town of just over 500 residents.

Pictured is the North West Hospital and Health Service ad offering a huge salary to work in Julia Creek

Julia Creek has not had a full-time doctor for over 10 years, and locals have to travel hundreds of miles to other cities for treatment.

The city has a six-bed day hospital staffed by nurses that provides low-threshold care and temporary care for patients awaiting emergency transfer.

If the locals need to see a doctor, the nearest is 147km away in Richmond.

Deputy Mayor Janene Fegan said patients sometimes have to travel 250 km to Mount Isa to see a GP.

“When Covid-19 hit, we didn’t have a doctor at all,” Ms Fegan told Nine News.

“So it was either present in the hospital and then they would offer telehealth or, if it was an emergency, they had some facilities there.”

Ms Fegan, a former nurse, said the potentially serious mid-level cases could be the most difficult.

“For example, if a child has a fever, they will normally stay in the hospital for 24 hours to be observed,” she said.

“But families have to travel to the next town at 2 a.m. to see the doctor, or decide whether to wait.”

The ad seeking to lure a doctor to Julia Creek also featured a map (pictured) to show what the city has to offer

The town of Julia Creek in northern Queensland is offering half a million dollars a year in salary to attract a doctor to work there. Pictured is a stock photo of a doctor talking to a patient

The Deputy Mayor also commented on the benefits of moving to Julia Creek, saying that people are amazed at the facilities the city has and how beautiful and easy to live in.

To encourage applicants, the North West Hospital and Health Service obtained testimonials from a former Julia Creek doctor and the wife of a former family doctor in the city.

dr. Martin Doris, who practiced there from 1999 to 2004, said he looks back with “incredibly fond memories” of the city.

“The move from cold, green and wet Ireland to the dry, hot expanse of McKinlay Shire was definitely a shock to the system,” he said.

“Luckily the folks at Julia Creek and McKinlay welcomed us with open arms – we became part of the community.”

Holly Kenny (pictured with her husband Tim and their son Benji) spent five very happy years at Julia Creek

Holly Kenny, whose husband Tim was the town doctor for five years, also enjoyed her time at Julia Creek.

“We thought maybe we could contribute… how wrong we were — it was the other way around,” she said.

“Nothing prepared us for the wilderness hospitality and generosity we would receive from this precious community.

“We were welcomed with open arms and have never looked back.”