Victoria’s rural and regional community health services are ready to expand to address health inequity across the state.

The inaugural Alliance of Rural & Regional Community Health (ARRCH) conference at Creswick on October 5-6 focused on how services are already engaging with communities to deliver innovative health programs and research, and how they could grow to meet demand.

The conference celebrated 50 years since the Whitlam Government launched community health in Australia and was a huge success, attracting more than 220 participants.

ARRCH chairperson and CEO of Northern District Community Health, Mandy Hutchinson, said rural and regional community health services already have a big impact on their communities and are well placed to do more.

Ready

“We are ready,” Ms Hutchinson said. “Our focus on health equity and the social determinants of health were celebrated by many examples at the conference, but we’re saying to all governments that we are ready and can scale up to deliver more positive programs across our communities, and do it more strategically and in collaboration.

“Our values haven’t really changed much in 50 years. We’re still prioritising lived experience and working closely in a place-based way with our communities and being informed by our communities about the way we work and in responding to their needs.”

The conference heard about initiatives such as scaling up farmer health checks, addressing ageism, amplifying regional LGBTIQA+ voices, community para-medicine, mental health support in schools, community recovery and resilience projects, nurse practitioner outreach models, tackling vaping in young people, a community paramedic model, and supporting people with intellectual disabilities to access healthcare.

Speakers

Minister for Health Ann-Maree Thomas, Deputy Secretary for Public Health Professor Zoe Wainer, Executive Director, Lived Experience, Mental Health and Wellbeing Division Mary O’Hagan and Department of Health secretary Professor Euan Wallace were among the guest speakers.

“Professor Wallace said that more money needs to be spent on prevention, early intervention and out-of-hospital care and we believe ARRCH is well placed to collaborate and build partnerships to achieve that goal,” Ms Hutchinson said.

Australian journalist Professor Stan Grant delivered the keynote speech, highlighting the connection between health and history.

“Some of our conversations, particularly the one led by Stan Grant, were profound and moving and I’m very proud of how our colleagues responded,” Ms Hutchinson said.  

The conference followed the theme, “Engaging with communities to address health equity, the rural and regional way”.

ARRCH was formed by the CEOs of 11 community health organisations in rural and regional Victoria that provide health and wellbeing services across 82.5 per cent of the state and contribute more than $750 million to the economy each year.

ARRCH members are Ballarat Community Health, Bendigo Community Health, Sunbury Cobaw Community Health, Grampians Community Health, Nexus Primary Health, Northern District Community Health, Bellarine Community Health, Gateway Health, Gippsland Lakes Complete Health, Primary Care Connect, Sunraysia Community Health Services.

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 17 October 2023.