The peak body for councils across NSW has this week launched a detailed action plan to address what it describes as the growing healthcare crisis in rural, regional and remote communities.
The launch of the plan, held in conjunction with the annual Local Government NSW Rural and Regional Summit, marks the beginning of a campaign from councils across NSW to demand action on regional health in the lead up to the next state election.
Six steps
Mayor Darcy Byrne, President of LGNSW, said the ‘Caring for our Regions’ action plan clearly lays out six key steps that would begin to address the growing inequity in access to healthcare services. ‘Today councils from across NSW are sending a message that the crisis in regional health must not be ignored and that we demand action to fix it,’ he said.
‘Our councils are working at the coalface in the bush, seeing how the gaps in health services are growing and becoming more dangerous by the day. Towns without GP’s, mothers having to travel for hours to give birth, pensioners without access to aged care beds – these are all symptoms of the crisis and cannot be ignored,’ said Mayor Byrne.
‘Shamefully, life expectancy for people living in these communities is about three years less than metropolitan areas.
‘Multiple inquiries have repeatedly found that citizens in rural, regional and remote parts of NSW have poorer health outcomes and face significant challenges in accessing health and hospital services compared to people living in metropolitan areas.
‘Today we are speaking with one voice to say that the time for inquiries is over and that we demand action to fix the inequities in our health system. It is completely unacceptable that someone’s postcode will determine their access to essential healthcare services and we won’t stand for this crisis being allowed to fester and continue to grow.
‘This Caring for our Regions action plan, is informed by councils’ real experiences on the ground; listening to their communities, feeling the impact and in many cases stepping in to fill the void,’ he said.
‘For too long, councils have been bridging the gaps in access to appropriate healthcare for their communities and we invite the state and federal governments to partner with us in implementing these six key actions.’
What is proposed
- Strengthen the regional health workforce: The NSW government must establish a Regional Health Workforce Investment Package, with $440 million over four years, to address systemic workforce shortages across general practice, specialist care, nursing, allied health and particularly mental health services in rural, regional and remote NSW.
- GP guarantee: In a country as wealthy as ours, it is unacceptable that in parts of rural, regional and remote NSW accessing a GP is nearly impossible. A GP guarantee is needed, requiring targeted investment in regional training pathways and recruitment and retention incentives, and long-term workforce sustainability. LGNSW calls for a $200 million investment over four years to expand regional GP training, support recruitment in hard-to.fill locations, and ensure consistent access to primary care in under-serviced communities.
- Reimburse councils for filling the health gaps: establish a rural, regional and remote health reimbursement scheme to compensate councils for costs incurred in supporting access to local healthcare. LGNSW calls for a $20 million program over four years to reimburse councils that are forced to redirect funding from core infrastructure and community services to support access to local healthcare.
- Fund patient transport as core health infrastructure: recognise patient transport as core health infrastructure. LGNSW calls for a $150 million investment over four years to provide sustainable funding for community transport services and integrated health and transport planning to improve access to care across rural, regional and remote NSW.
- Safe, local maternity care: reverse the decline in rural birthing services and restore safe, local maternity care. This requires targeted investment of $120 million over four years to protect and rebuild rural birthing units and expand midwife-led continuity of care and culturally safe maternity models, including for Aboriginal women and communities
- Invest in community-based aged care and ageing in place: state government to work with the Commonwealth to establish a Rural and Regional Aged Care Transition Fund, with $250 million over four years, to expand council-delivered supports for ageing in-place, including in-home care and community-based services in under-serviced regions; and support transitional care models that reduce hospital discharge blockages, enabling faster delivery of residential aged care infrastructure in high-need communities.
