Dr Dahal fell in love with Braidwood through a weekender in Mongarlowe, which she and her husband Julian Suitor have turned in to their permanent home. Dr Dahal, who grew up in Mackay and studied in Townsville, has previously worked in a range of places including Sydney and Canberra.

The choice to move to Braidwood was an easy one for Dr Dahal and Suitor. Dr Dahal says “we wanted to just live in the country” and Mongarlowe struck the perfect note of balance with both rural beauty and access to town amenity. She loves that she can live in the wilds of Mongarlowe and still ride her bike to work in just 30 minutes.

Dr Dahal was particularly keen for the exposure an article in the Times would bring, hoping it will increase the safety of her daily rides. The more people who recognise her, the more they will know to “look out for the little doctor on the bike” as they drive along Little River Road, Dr Dahal says.

Dr Ahmed has come to the practise a roundabout route, completing his initial degree in Pakistan, his fellowship in the Republic of Ireland and practising in Dublin, Victoria and Jerrabomberra before moving to the Braidwood Medical Centre. He lives in Curtin with his wife Erum  and children Tahla, 14 and Seerat ,10.

The opportunity to jump around and do a wide range of tasks was what drew him to rural medicine. He loves the diversity that a role in rural medicine will provide and when asked about his hobbies, responded that his hobby was to learn new medical skills.

When Dr Ahmed first heard about the position he was unsure, but fell in love with Braidwood on his first visit and has not looked back. He hopes to move to Braidwood with his family eventually saying, it ticks all the boxes for a home. One member of his family is keen at least, “my daughter wants to have a farm, and animals and horses” he says.

Both Dr Dahal and Dr Ahmed believe that the key challenge for any health services provider in Braidwood is to attract services locally so that residents are not forced to travel to receive treatment.

Dr Dahal says that in Braidwood “we are very lucky for a small town to have a hospital” and that the Medical Centre will seek to work towards keeping treatment “as local as possible.”

The Braidwood Medical Centre is one of 14 rural practices run by Rural and Remote Medical Services, a non for profit organisation that seeks to provide support for GPs to practice in rural and remote areas.

The surgery is open Monday to Friday and can be contacted at 4842 1034