The Mansfield District Hospital (MDH) is set to reach a significant milestone in regional healthcare this February, welcoming highly respected specialist general and breast cancer surgeon Dr John Stuchbery to its surgical team. Commencing on 5 February, Dr Stuchbery’s appointment represents a major win for the hospital and the community overall. Chief Executive Officer Michelle Spence said the hospital continues to grow embracing new opportunities to provide safe care as close to home as possible for the local community and surrounds. “Dr John Stuchbery is very patient centred in his approach and has been welcomed by the team here at MDH,” Ms Spence said. “Dr Stuchbery now joins the list of excellent speciality surgeons who provide surgical care here in Mansfield.” Dr Stuchbery’s arrival is a homecoming of sorts, with the doctor himself a country boy, raised in the small town of Mortlake just north of Warrnambool. He began his education in a two-room primary school—an experience which mirrors the tight-knit communities of Jamieson and Merrijig - before being one of a small cohort of six or seven to complete year 12. “I spent half my life in country Victoria and half in Melbourne for my training, but I always knew I wanted to live and work in the country,” Dr Stuchbery said That dedication to regional medicine has defined his 27-year career in the Albury-Wodonga region. A former Director of Surgery at Albury Wodonga Health and Chairperson of the Medical Advisory Committee at Albury Wodonga Private Hospital, his contributions were recently recognized with Dr Stuchbery named the 2026 Albury Citizen of the Year for his tireless service to healthcare and the community. His dedication and expertise have not only enhanced the standard of healthcare in the region, but he has also earned the respect and trust of both patients and medical professionals alike. And while Dr Stuchbery will maintain his private practice in Albury, he has chosen Mansfield District Hospital as the new home for his public surgical lists. “I want the people of Mansfield to know that if they need treatment, they can get it here in town,” Dr Stuchbery Dr Stuchbery will operate every second Thursday, performing a wide range of procedures including colorectal and bowel cancer treatment; melanoma and skin cancer removals; along with general surgery treating hernias, gallbladders, and carpal tunnel; endoscopy and colonoscopies. Ms Spence confirmed the hospital is also working closely with Department of Health and Safer Care Victoria to explore the possibility of providing breast surgery as part of the Perioperative service capability framework for Victoria. If successful breast cancer surgical treatment will become another specialised service the hospital offers, facilitated by a multi-disciplinary working group lead by MDH. For the first time, shire residents facing a diagnosis would have the option to receive life-saving surgery at the local hospital, eliminating the commute to Melbourne or Wangaratta. The road to Mansfield began with a professional connection when a Mansfield GP anaesthetist, who had worked alongside Dr Stuchbery in Albury, suggested the move. Since then, Dr Stuchbery has been working closely with MDH CEO Michelle Spence and the hospital board to integrate his services into the existing surgical framework. Ahead of his start date, Dr Stuchbery has already conducted intensive training sessions with local nursing staff across both theatre and ward, to ensure a seamless standard of post-operative care for patients. He has also met with local GPs to streamline referral pathways, ensuring patients can be seen and operated on within a week or two of diagnosis. Despite his decades in major regional hubs, Dr Stuchbery said he was impressed by the calibre of Mansfield’s medical facilities - particularly the hospital’s ability to maintain its obstetrics ward. "One of the things that really surprised me about Mansfield is that even though it is a small country town it still does obstetrics," he said. “It is very highly regulated and so many country towns have lost their obstetrics. "This is the only place offering it between Box Hill and Wangaratta. “The fact that Mansfield maintains the high standards required to maintain the service as well as conduct emergency caesareans is amazing. "It speaks to the incredible skill of the local GP specialists and midwives and nursing staff here.” Practising two days a week at the local hospital, Dr Stuchbery plans to stay overnight on Thursdays after surgery and consult on Fridays, ensuring his patients receive that personal follow-up that defines rural medicine. “Aside from the travel, it looks like it’s going to work out really well,” Dr Stuchbery said of his first impressions of the community and its hospital. “And if there’s ever a problem, I’m less than two hours away—I’ll just come back.”
