This information sheet covers the differential regional and rural health outcomes in various communities, highlighting the impact on citizens of NSW rural and regional areas.
Rural and Regional Health Outcomes
In this information sheet, we explain why regional health services differ to those accessible in metropolitan areas, and the impact of these differences on communities.
How do health outcomes differ across rural and regional areas in Australia?
Due to population spread and geographical remoteness, many rural and regional communities have poorer access to health services compared to their metropolitan counterparts.
This occurs due to several reasons, including:
- The absence of general practitioners in some rural towns;
- Limited access to specialist services;
- Limited access to allied health services and general dentistry;
- Occupations with high levels of physical risk, including farming, agriculture and mining;
- Other health factors including frequency of exercise, diet and smoking; and
- Increased likelihood of experiencing domestic violence resulting in hospitalization.
As a result, mortality rates in rural communities are significantly higher than those in metropolitan areas, with males and females in very remote areas suffering a mortality rate 1.4 and 1.8 times higher than their metropolitan counterparts, respectively (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019).
What challenges do rural and regional health services face?
Rural and regional services are primarily challenged by staffing concerns. The inability to hire and maintain staff in rural and regional areas places increased strain on health services.
What health services are limited in rural and regional communities?
Although regional and rural communities often report high employment of nurses and midwives, the rate of specialists in rural and regional areas is significantly decreased. Although in metropolitan areas, there are 143 specialists for every 100,000 people, in very remote areas, this drops to just 22 specialists per 100,000 people (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019).
Allied health professionals- such as pharmacists, physiotherapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, optometrists and podiatrists- are also significantly under-represented in regional and rural communities (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019).
What impact do these differences have?
The varied access to healthcare in rural and regional areas has a significant and negative impact on individuals.
Many deaths in rural and regional areas are potentially preventable with adequate hospital care or other treatment. However, the lack of access to general practitioner services has meant that people in rural and regional areas were more likely to have visited an emergency department than their metropolitan counterparts because there was no nearby general practitioner (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019).
Potentially preventable hospitalization occurs at vastly increased rates in rural and regional communities, with rates between 1.7 and 2.5 times the metropolitan rates in remote and very remote communities (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019).
Additionally, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders often experience higher disease vulnerability, leading to further health disparity amongst rural and regional First Nations communities.
The inability to access local healthcare also increases travel expenses incurred by regional communities to attend medical appointments, time expended doing so, and increased stress due to the distance from adequate healthcare facilities.
The 2020 Parliamentary Inquiry into Health Outcomes and access to health and hospital services in rural, regional and remote New South Wales
In 2020, a Parliamentary Inquiry into the issue began. The inquiry had authority to examine the following areas:
- Health outcomes in rural and regional areas
- Comparisons of these outcomes to metropolitan areas
- Availability of health services
- Patient experience of healthcare in regional and rural NSW, compared to that in metropolitan areas
- Planning systems and projections, and health expenditure in rural and regional NSW, compared to metropolitan areas
- Staffing challenges, the availability of ambulance services, oncology, and palliative care in rural and regional NSW
- The impact of health services on Indigenous and culturally diverse communities
- Other matters.
A report has not yet been released.
The inquiry heard from the Cancer Council of NSW that geographical distance to cancer services is the most significant barrier to appropriate care services.
This led to the Cancer Council describing the current situation as a “post-code lottery” on the availability of adequate treatment. For patients, this has proven a significant issue. One patient, who was just eight years old reported travelling 24,000 kilometers to access radiation therapy, as this service was not available in her regional town.
How are rural and regional healthcare services impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the already existing strain on rural and regional health services. This has occurred due to limited supply of vaccines in said areas.
If you have any concerns about rural and regional healthcare, or if you have been adversely impacted by the differential health outcomes in rural and regional areas, one of our expert solicitors can provide you with advice in a free initial consultation. Please call our office on (02) 4050 0330 or book an appointment online.
