A young Wollongong woman, who did not want to be named, contacted the Mercury this week, frustrated after being told the next appointment for a Wollongong-based neurologist was not until next February.

That was despite the fact that she had a referral from her GP outlining concerns about her migraines.

A quick ring-around by the Mercury on Tuesday revealed that new patients would have to wait at least two months for an initial appointment with specialists including a dermatologist, paediatrician or obstetrician. At least one had temporarily "closed" the books due to overwhelming demand.

Around one in four adults living in regional areas referred to a medical specialist felt they waited longer than acceptable to get an appointment, according to the latest figures from the National Health Performance Authority.

Long booking and waiting times for specialist appointments was also one of the major concerns identified in a new report on the healthcare issues affecting the Illawarra and Shoalhaven.

Grand Pacific Health co-ordinator of epidemiology and research Abhijeet Ghosh was the lead researcher for the 2014 Health Collaborations Report, which surveyed more than 1500 residents and 300 healthcare providers.

Mr Ghosh said the high cost of specialist services and the lack of certain specialists in the region were also highlighted in the report.

"More than 1800 people contributed to the project either as participants in a half-day forum or through their responses to surveys," he said.

"The main aim was to identify the major healthcare issues and gaps in services as perceived by community members generally, and healthcare providers specifically.

"What was clearly identified was that there are significant barriers to accessing specialist services in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven, and that has major impacts on people's health."

Specialist services were perceived by residents to be the most expensive of all healthcare services according to the report. Unavailability of services was also an issue for residents, particularly in Kiama and the Shoalhaven.

"The lack of locally available specialist services was seen as a major issue throughout the region, but particularly further down the coast," Mr Ghosh said.

"So while a Wollongong resident might be okay with having to travel to Sydney for a specialist appointment, those from the southern areas of the Shoalhaven will have even higher travel costs as well as accommodation costs if they have to stay overnight.

"That's far too many costs attributed to a specialist consultation."

The report also revealed that healthcare providers themselves found specialist services the hardest to access for their patients - followed by psychologists, occupational therapists and dentists.

Patients were referred to specialists by 41 per cent of providers while 33 per cent felt there was a lack of specialist services.

"So there's that imbalance there - healthcare providers are referring patients to specialists even as they recognise that there are barriers to accessing them," Mr Ghosh said.

He said the survey results were concerning as a high percentage of Illawarra and Shoalhaven residents - around 40 per cent - accessed specialists annually.

lwachsmuth@fairfaxmedia.com.au