Archived Professional News: June 2005
Rural health: Different issues, different answers
More than 1,000 nurses, doctors, allied health providers, managers, policy makers and community members from rural and remote areas converged on Alice Springs earlier this year to discuss the state of rural health.
The conference, hosted by members of the National Rural Health Alliance (which includes the ANF) is a little different from many health focussed conferences, and not just because of the range of people who attend.
It is different because each session, both concurrent and plenary, recommendations are developed and used to prepare and issue a communiqué at the end of the conference.
The recommendations are also used by the Alliance to plan its work. (The communiqué and recommendations are available at www.ruralhealth.org.au)
Another significant difference with this conference is that it explores health from different angles, taking into consideration aesthetic, ecological, social and economic factors, as well as more orthodox issues to do with the provision of health care.
Art-in-health is always a major focus, with film, singing, music and dance being used to lighten the load for those who go home to rural and remote areas, and to provide alternative ways of healing individuals and groups in isolated settings.
This year the conference location set the agenda, giving a strong focus on remote area issues and on the health of Indigenous Australians.
New ways of working were also considered, including the role of nurse practitioners.
National health care and health financing reform was explored, with conference participants determined to let governments know rural and remote areas issues must be considered.
One-size does not fit all and it is an opportune time to look at all the issues around health care financing and address the barriers that prevent people from accessing high quality health care wherever they live.
People living in rural and remote areas, and particularly Indigenous Australians, use less Medicare and PBS dollars than people in the city and regional centres. The conference discussed the need to move away from a system that has fee-for-service (ie. general practitioners) as its main mechanism for funding primary health care in rural and remote areas.
Communities in some parts of Australia may be better served by a primary health care system that uses a range of salaried health care providers including nurses, doctors and allied health care providers to deliver primary health care. MBS and PBS funds could be pooled and provided to the service to pay for expenses.
Services at both ends of the life spectrum were also considered, as access to aged care services and birthing facilities being poorer, in many areas, than for urban areas.
Women having babies and older people needing more help at home are often required to leave family and friends and relocate temporarily or permanently to cities or regional towns during these life events.
Nurses living in rural and remote areas are aware of all these issues and deal with them everyday. If you want to be more involved in setting the agenda for rural and remote area health, please consider working with the ANF professional team.
An advertisement calling for expressions of interest in this work is below. This is a great opportunity, and I encourage you to nominate.
EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
Are you a member of the Australian Nursing Federation (including the NSW Nurses Association and the Queensland Nurses Union)? Do you have an interest in any of the following areas?
- Rural health
- Standards (Standards Australia)
- Child and family health
- Information technology
- Quality use of medicines
The ANF would like to work with members who are keen to develop additional skills representing nurses at a national level. If you have an interest in one of the areas identified, and you have the time to spend up to 1-2 days a month representing the ANF (including preparation and reporting), please contact the ANF professional officer to discuss representing the ANF in partnership with the officers of the Federal Office. Work would generally be home-based but travel to attend meetings etc may be required.
Criteria:
- A nurse licensed to practice in one of the Australian States or Territories;
- Completion of relevant postgraduate education;
- A knowledge of contemporary nursing and other health issues;
- A strong commitment to the trade union movement including at least two years membership of an ANF branch; and,
- Excellent communication skills particularly in professional writing.
In addition, the ANF is seeking expressions of interest from ANF members to represent the ANF on selection committees for various scholarships, eg. the aged care and rural/remote area scholarship schemes funded by the Australian Government. This would generally involve 1-2 days preparation and one day at a meeting once a year for each scheme.
Payment of costs and for services will be negotiated on an individual basis.
Contact Victoria Gilmore (Federal Professional Officer) if you would like more information on these exciting opportunities.
Email: professional@anf.org.au Ph: (02) 6232 6533.
Expressions of interest must be sent to the Federal Secretary, PO Box 4239, Kingston 2604 ACT, and must be received by COB Friday 24 June 2005.
Victoria Gilmore
ANF Federal Professional Officer