A new report on rural primary care identifies inequities in service provision, major pressures on funding and workforce, unsustainably high levels of clinical risk, and barriers for patients to access care when and where they need it. 

The Rural Services Review (RSR) Report recommends that funders, planners, advisers, and community advocates, both nationally and locally, continue to push for change in healthcare provision for rural communities.

The RSR has been led by independent chair and former Gore district mayor Tracy Hicks and facilitated by WellSouth RSR project manager Leonie Williamson.

“It was a response to ongoing issues relating to rural healthcare in our region,” Tracy said.

“Through research, consultation and many, many conversations, the Rural Services Review group has identified priorities and, perhaps more importantly, actionable strategies that we believe will enhance services and outcomes for our rural community.

“The southern region is vast, our population is spread out with much of that rural. Those who live rurally experience more barriers to access care – both secondary and primary – yet funding doesn’t recognise the distinct challenges our communities face,” he said. 

Leonie said many of the recommendations in the report following the review are not new to New Zealand’s health landscape.

“But the report is specifically representing our southern voice now, and the challenges for our healthcare representatives who are [at] the coal face daily. We are underserved and the inequities in rural health remain significant.”

Health New Zealand’s Southern District has the largest geographic catchment of Aotearoa New Zealand, with several isolated communities throughout the catchment.

Of the 78 practices in the WellSouth network covering Otago and Southland, 36 are considered rural. 

The Review Group consists of 16 volunteer clinical and non-clinical members selected from local primary care providers, rural hospital specialists, community and iwi representatives across the Southern District. 

The report recommends five areas are addressed to resolve many of the issues facing patients and providers in rural areas.

They are the sustainable development of the rural workforce; addressing 24/7 urgent and unplanned care; the delivery of equitable patient access for rural people with services closer to home; efficient transport options for patients at an equitable cost and the achievement of manageable clinical risk for providers and patients.

Of the broader recommendations, the group asks for a forward-looking Southern Rural Health strategy that considers all regional patient and provider needs across both primary and secondary services, along with pay parity, workforce wellbeing, diagnostics, mental health support, the role of telehealth, and access to pharmacy services. 

The group consulted widely with more than 60 regional providers to identify the main challenges and priorities for improvement in rural health services.

The recommendations are currently being incorporated into health planning at local, regional, and national levels and identified programmes of work will be shared once finalised.

WellSouth chief executive Andrew Swanson-Dobbs said the report provides a single point of reference for the health sector to address the inequities in our rural health network.

“‘WellSouth is 100 per cent committed to advocating on behalf of our health providers and their patients. This report provides us with a clear outline of the changes that are required, and we are working hard to ensure these recommendations are heard and addressed.”

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