First report on state of rural and regional health

THE Select Committee on Remote, Rural, and Regional Health recently released its first report, which found that while work is in progress, much still needs to be done.

The committee is tasked with ensuring the implementation of recent health reforms and follows the 44 crucial recommendations of the 2022 inquiry into the state of regional healthcare.

The report examines the progress of initiatives to improve the health workforce, workplace culture, and funding for programs and services in the regional health system over the past two years. It outlines the crisis in rural general practice, expensive short-term locum doctors, overstretched health staff, poor working conditions, and inadequate pay.

Recommendations on how the 2022 key responses should be implemented include new worker incentive schemes, the crisis in primary care, reliance on locums, greater transparency in funding models, and urgently addressing workplace culture issues.

Committee chair, Wagga Wagga MP Dr Joe McGirr, said NSW Health has been working hard to deliver the much-needed reforms.

“During this inquiry, the Committee has seen dedicated efforts to deliver better outcomes for the rural and regional communities,” Dr McGirr said.

“Despite these efforts, regional healthcare in NSW is the worst it’s been for many years, in a number of key areas.

“I’m pleased to announce the tabling of the committee’s report on this important inquiry. This goes to the heart of the serious issues that our regional and remote communities face when accessing the healthcare they need.”

The report on workforce, workplace culture, and regional health is the first of several over the next year. A second inquiry is underway to examine progress on specialist care and specific health services.