Rodney Stevens
An increased investment in rural health care in areas such as the Clarence Valley is needed to reduce the high rates of potentially preventable hospitalisations says the National Rural Health Alliance.
New data released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows potentially avoidable deaths and hospitalisations were two to three times higher in regional and remote areas compared with major cities.
This data comes at a time where the Clarence Valley is waiting for the NSW government to honour its election promise to begin the $260 million plus redevelopment of Grafton Base Hospital.
While the 55,000 residents of the valley wait for the region’s largest hospital to be redeveloped, locals are reporting waiting up to a month for an appointment to see their GP.
National Rural Health Alliance Chief Executive Susi Tegen said additionally the number of non-hospital, non-referred attendances per person were lowest in regional and remote communities.
“The Alliance urgently calls for increased investment in rural health care, given the appalling health spending deficit in rural Australia which has compounded the health problems faced by our rural communities,” she said.
“We know the biggest deficits are in accessing primary health care as well as other MBS expenditure and private hospitals from a research report the Alliance released in June 2023, ‘Evidence base for additional investment in rural health in Australia’ compiled by Nous Group.”
Ms Tegen said the deficit in accessing primary health care in rural areas leads to increased hospital expenditure.
“There is clear evidence that per-person spending on healthcare is not equitable, and that this inequity is contributing to poorer health outcomes experienced in rural areas,” she said.
“The Nous report quantified the rural health deficit at $6.55 billion annually.
“That equates to approximately $850 per person per annum in the context of a population of more than seven million people living in rural Australia.”
Ms Tegen said the National Rural Health Alliance was working with all levels of government to ensure people living in rural areas receive equitable services to those in the cities.
“The Alliance is working with Federal, state and local governments, as well as communities to ensure that we develop solutions which are fit for purpose and sustainable,” she said.
“However, these require innovative thinking, equity and funding flexibility, because a city plan, often does not fit, nor work in rural Australia.
“Current funding models and service delivery arrangements create significant barriers to workforce recruitment and retention, further exacerbating the funding shortfall.
“The need for greater and more strategic investment in the health of rural Australians is urgently felt and must be addressed, we have a social and economic contract to do so.”