When Daniel Mulvay had to bring his daughter to Dubbo Base Hospital from Cobar for medical tests, he booked into a not-for-profit charitable accommodation site in the city.
But it was not until he had to extend his stay at Macquarie Home Stay that things took a turn for the worse.
"I was only meant to be here for a few days, because my daughter wasn't expected to be in hospital for long, but I ended up having to stay for 11 days," Mr Mulvay said.
"Because my daughter's condition hadn't changed, I had to move out because they had other guests coming in and I had to find alternative accommodation.
"It was quite hard because there were no rooms anywhere because the NRL was on; it was unbelievable.
Mr Mulvay found one night's accommodation before moving to another hotel for two nights and then back to Macquarie Home Stay.
"If it wasn't for Macquarie Home Stay, I don't know what I would have done," he said.
"I couldn't afford to stay the whole time in a hotel.
"If I couldn't have got back in there, I would have had to stay in my car."
Hundreds turned away
Macquarie Home Stay managing director Rod Crowfoot has seen the uptake of accommodation at his facility increase consistently since it opened in 2019.
"We knew the need was there for this specialised accommodation facility," he said.
"What we know now is that we have a facility that is meeting a genuine, tangible need within the community and making a real difference to the patients and their carer or escort when in Dubbo."
From mothers placed on bed rest, to cancer patients receiving treatment or parents of sick children, Mr Crowfoot said there were a variety of guests who stayed with them.
"Patients are travelling from approximately one third of the geographic footprint of the state to Dubbo to receive medical treatment — from Broken Hill to the west, the Queensland border to the north, down through the Moree and Narrabri plains regions and including the Mudgee region.
"Some patients can take two days to travel to Dubbo; it is a huge commitment for them to make the journey, and we are ever so pleased to be able to provide a place they can call home for the time they are here."
Expansion plans with council
The facility in Dubbo has 17 rooms.
"We have had just nine empty rooms across the whole month of May and have turned away an astounding 103 bookings," Mr Crowfoot said.
"That's unprecedented and a massive concern."
Macquarie Home Stay has put plans to Dubbo Regional Council to expand its master plan to 63 accommodation units.
"The demand is there; the need for us to expand and provide more affordable accommodation has become a priority," Mr Crowfoot said.
