A regional health body has called out the underwhelming attempts that ‘plug gaps’ across Australia’s deficient rural health system, proposing instead a complete remodel of the rural health system that caters to the disparity of health services. 

The National Rural Health Alliance (the Alliance) has developed a new model of care for rural health, termed Rural Area Community Controlled Health Organisations (RACCHOs) that will be implemented across the state. 

CEO of the Alliance Dr Gabrielle O’kane said a new National Rural Health Strategy is necessary, asking the government to deepen its policy focus on rural health. 

“After years of well-intended, ad-hoc support, it is evident that a holistic and strategic approach is necessary to address the fundamental systemic issues of workforce shortages, lack of access to services and the affordability of rural health care,” Dr O’Kane said. 

“With half the number of health providers per capita in rural Australia compared to major cities, rural people cannot access the health care they need, which contributes to them becoming ill, hospitalised and dying prematurely at a much greater rate,” she said. 

The proposed RACCHOs will differ from the framework in place, bringing a more holistic approach that underpins all health services offered in regional areas, and more importantly, ensuring that the areas they are established are truly rural. 

“What we’re looking for is to put these into rural areas where there's been very little activity in terms of doctors, or there’s a long distance to go and see your doctors. We’re intending these to be in towns where it’s been really difficult to attract and retain doctors,” Dr O’Kane said.

One of the proposed locations for a RACCHO is Nyngan, where the shire council currently runs the health service. 

In an interview with Sky Regional last week, Federal Minister for Regional Health David Gillespie acknowledged that maldistribution of health professionals is a huge problem to address in rural areas. 

Mr Gillespie said that a number of initiatives should help to fill the gaps.

“We’ve got 21 universities running University Departments of Rural Health and Rural Clinical Schools where the med students and nurses get trained in the country,” Mr Gillespie said. 

“We know if we harvest students from country areas and about  a third of them now come from rural backgrounds and they train there, they’re much (more) likely to end up staying there,” Mr Gillespie told Sky Regional. 

HECS or HELP debt relief for doctors who choose to practice in rural, regional and remote practitioners is a new government initiative also aimed at conquering the issue. 

Still, Dr O’Kane said that the programs usually aren’t accountable in where those doctors really go. 

“We don’t know exactly where in regional areas they could be going, so it could be some regional centre rather than actual rural towns,” Dr O’Kane said. 

Former President of the Rural Doctors Association of NSW Doctor Paul Mara said that the education and training programs that incentivise working in rural locations have had very limited results and no accountability to outcomes.

“The rural health crisis and community frustration expressed through the recent NSW parliamentary inquiry is now out in the open,” Dr Mara said. 

“It is now incumbent on the politicians and bureaucrats to act,” he said. 

The Alliance has called for the immediate funding and rollout of 30 RACCHOs across the country.