Following the release of the Final Report from the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission, the Alliance is examining the recommendations to identify those most likely to help improve health among Indigenous people and in rural and remote Australia.
The report recommends ‘equivalence funding’ as a means of improving access to primary health care in rural areas that are currently underserved. The Alliance is examining how the current level of under-funding can be accurately calculated to ensure that needy rural areas receive a fair share of the health dollar. Viable funding for rural hospitals and for patient travel and accommodation assistance is also crucial to provide reasonable access to acute and specialist services.
The Alliance is promoting the benefits that e-health can bring to rural areas and is urging Government to make preferential IT investment in remote and rural communities.
The Alliance strongly supports the Commission’s proposal for significant new investment in comprehensive primary health centres, with better coordinated referrals and networks of community services. It hopes there will be an emphasis on rural and remote areas.
However ongoing workforce shortages often limit the practicality and effectiveness of proposed health service initiatives in rural areas. For example, the new primary care centres proposed, and the Denticare scheme, will not deliver equal benefits for people in rural areas unless there are substantial improvements in the number and distribution of rural health professionals with the right mix of disciplines.
Another priority activity for the Alliance is its work with Federal, State and Territory Governments on the development of a National Rural Health Plan. It should incorporate specific benchmarks, targets and programs to ensure that equivalent health is achieved and maintained for the seven million people who live in rural and remote Australia.
The Alliance continues its work on a range of other fronts, including the health and regional development impacts of climate change and drought in rural areas, more equitable access for rural students to tertiary education, opportunities for training and placements in rural locations for health students, and rural community sustainability.
Alliance position papers on e-health and climate change, and a range of fact sheets on other rural health issues, are available at <www.ruralhealth.org.au>
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