A recent Rural Health in Australia snapshot from the National Rural Health Alliance has revealed more than 18,000 Australians have no access to primary health care services within an hour’s drive from their home. Some of these people are living hours – or even multiple days’ drive – from their closest major hospital.

For Gippsland residents, the stats are especially pertinent. With the second-lowest life expectancy in Victoria, the region has the highest amount of avoidable deaths from cancer, alcohol-related injuries and accidental falls resulting in death (15.34 versus 8.3 per 100,000 population). And poor access to health care services only compounds these issues.

Data from the Gippsland Primary Health Network references cost of access, as well as transport and geographic challenges as major barriers for Gippsland residents to access GPs, specialist care and allied health.

The research also identified workforce shortages within these healthcare services and long wait times impacting people’s ability to access care in Gippsland. What workforce does exist has been found by Charles Darwin University to sometimes be willing to accept a lower standard of care for people in regional areas because it is considered better than nothing.

Is virtual health the answer to the regional gap? 

For regional and rural Australians, travelling to a major city to access health care is costly and time-consuming. Now, virtual healthcare – not just telehealth – is being put forward as a potential way to bridge the gap.

Virtual healthcare includes services like “hospital in the home”, where nurses canprovide treatments in the patient's home along with regular doctor telehealth visits, “virtual wards” for isolation and treatments where the patient can be monitored through remote monitoring devices, and “virtual emergency departments” to support patients who can be virtually managed from home.

Research published in Nature identifies improvements in virtual healthcare as one of the potential ways to bridge the gap between cities and regional communities when it comes to healthcare services.

The research does not claim that improvements in virtual health are the be-all and end-all, however. In addition to increasing and improving access to virtual health care the report also identified increasing and maintaining the number of healthcare workers in regional communities as a primary issue.

It also called for more state and federal government funding and to design and future virtual health services in conjunction with the community to ensure they suit local needs and conditions.

Could the federal election be a chance for change?

Nationals MP for Gippsland Darren Chester has identified the Primary Care Nursing and Midwifery Scholarship Program as a way to get more healthcare workers to live in regional areas. “We have a growing problem with access to health and aged care services in our region, and upskilling locals is part of the solution,” Chester said.

Liberal candidate for Monash Mary Aldred told the Gippsland Monitor that she knows the lack of healthcare services in Gippsland is an issue for everybody. “Whether I’m in Phillip Island or West Gippsland or other areas, people raise it with me everyday.”

Independent candidate for Monash Deb Leonard told the Gippsland Monitor that “[Gippsland doesn’t] have the same healthcare quality as in the city, we need to make sure the services that we need are available, that includes transport options to make sure they can afford to get to the city for specialist appointments.”