Rural/Remote Health
12th National Rural Health Conference “Strong Commitment, Bright Future” - Improving Rural Health The recent Senate Committee Inquiry into the supply of health services and medical professionals in rural areas picked up on the critical importance of the multidisciplinary health care team for improving rural health. But shortages both of health positions and staff to fill them can mean that such teams are simply not available in many more remote areas.
improve the health and wellbeing of people in rural Australia. The Alliance paper Twenty steps to equal healthcare includes recommendations for greater equivalence in incentives for recruitment, retention, placements and training of rural health professionals across the board as part of improving rural health services and workforce.
The National Rural Health Alliance, the peak nongovernment organisation for rural and remote health, strongly supports the Senate Committee’s recommendation that HECS reimbursement should be available to allied health and nursing graduates on the same terms as is currently the case for medical graduates. The National Rural Health Alliance is made up of 34 national organisations representing rural and remote health interests, including health professionals (nurses, doctors, pharmacists, dentists, paramedics and a range of allied health workers), health educators, researchers and students, health service providers and managers, Indigenous organisations and health consumer networks. The organisations in the Alliance work collaboratively to
For health care as close to home as possible, people in rural and remote communities rely on the support of local primary care health professionals. This means that many nurses and other health professionals in rural and remote areas have a very broad scope of practice, which is challenging and exciting, but can also be demanding and exhausting. Ready and timely access to specialised advice, equipment and practical suggestions – as well as links with professional colleagues – can help to sustain local efforts. Health services sometimes have to employ short-term contract staff at pay rates that seem excessive and can be detrimental to the morale and tenure of permanent health professionals in the area.
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