"Heal the man, and the family wins," said Mr Burge. "Heal the family and the community wins." On nearly every indicator, Tharawal is unusual: It has started to close the gap in health. It outperforms non-Indigenous Australians in some areas, including the immunisation of its children and health screening of every patient's weight, height and Body Mass Index - including questions about smoking too - on every visit. On Thursday Prime Minister Scott Morrison recommended that Indigenous people should be given more say over how programs are delivered in their communities. Sitting at a table of health workers taking their lunch at the centre, Tharawal's manager Tallulah Lett agreed. “Who best knows Aboriginal people?” Ms Lett asked. “We do.” Once patients had to go outside the community for treatment, health suffered, she said.

They wanted to see their own people. For example, when the centre's funding for podiatry services - bad feet are often an indicator of worsening diabetes and can restrict the mobility of older people - was cut for two years, only one or two patients acted on doctors'referrals to see outside specialists, said Ms Lett.

Anthony Dargin, 22, kisses his one-year-old son Ivory after he gets immunisation shots at the Tharawal Aboriginal Corporation Aboriginal Medical Service in Airds. Credit:Kate Geraghty Now the centre's weekly podiatry clinic is booked out. The centre's chief executive Darryl Wright says Tharawal provides so many services that its clients no longer need to go the local Westfield. Legal aid and Centrelink visit, and locals can pick up a healthy fruit and vegetable box for $20 so they can "enjoy good tucker all year round". There's also a community kitchen, dance and exercises, drug and alcohol programs and extensive mental health services. Tharawal sees about 5000 patients every year who come back many times. It has on-site specialists in every field, except a dermatologist, who see patients at the centre in person or via video conferencing

Fifteen years ago, though, the medical centre was a sad collection of demountables. It had one doctor and it nearly closed. Its governance came under scrutiny, people stayed away and a security guard patrolled outside. Community member Ivan Wellington said the centre had gone from the “depths of darkness and despair ... to a beautiful place of healing and health. Without this place, Airds would be a mess, “ he said. Ivan Wellington (left) and Eddie Burge are members of a local men’s group in Airds. Credit:Kate Geraghty Despite the freeze in the Medicare payments and caps in the centre funding, the centre's integrated approach is seeing improvements from birth to old age. Mr Wright said the centre had made the community more aware that they need to look after their health.

Often local Indigenous people would come in to take advantage of a service or a yarning group, such as sewing circle, which is located right next to a mums and bubs group where medical staff providing advice on family planning and testing for cervical cancer. This informal approach encouraged women to seek help. As a result, pregnant women were coming more often, for perinatal care. That's resulted in more babies being born at a healthier weight. Without the Tharawal medical service, Airds would be a mess, said community member Ivan Wellington. Credit:Kate Geraghty On Thursday one-year-old Ivory Dargin screamed as his dad Anthony hugged him tight to reassure him while he had his immunisation jabs. Immunisation of children Ivory’s age 12 to 24 months and 24 to 36 months - which experts say is highly effective at closing the gap - is between 90 per cent and 97 per cent at the centre. That's about 20 per cent to 40 per cent higher than other Indigenous children and higher than in many non-Indigenous communities.

The cost of treatment and tests was always a factor for many locals. Dr Jenny Reath said many patients were too embarrassed to say they couldn't afford medicine. In one case, a patient wouldn't admit that he hadn't been taking his medicine as prescribed until he realised the cost was covered under the Closing the Gap pharmaceutical scheme. An individual patient may suffer from a range of problems, from diabetes to heart disease, but Dr Reath said the Medicare payment wasn't adequate for long consultations to see patients with complicated health problems. "I realised on Saturday that my hairdresser earns more an hour than me," she said.