Derek Irwin, Director of HealthX reports on a recent question that has been asked; why are people in the bush heartland of Australia dying three years younger than city Australians?

The simple answer seems to be that studies have shown this is due to their poor access of healthcare. Derek is delighted to hear that The Sunday Mail has launched a five week campaign asking state and federal governments to make significant changes that will dramatically ease the bush health crisis. Derek believes the campaign is to focus on the policy changes needed to improve cancer care in the bush, maternity services, subsidies to encourage doctors to work in rural Australia, patient travel subsides and aged care. For example, imagine realising your chances of cancer survival depended on your geography.

Research has shown that rural cancer patients are up to 30 per cent more likely to die than those living in the city because they can’t access radiotherapy treatment. It costs $7 million to put in a linear accelerator and $750,000 a year to staff it. In a national health budget of $140 billion a year it should not be too hard to find the funds. As well as this, many country birthing units are closing and Professor David Tiller from The University of Sydney’s School of Rural Health has called for specialist obstetrics training in the bush. A shortage of medical specialists in rural towns means rural patients often have to travel to the city, and state government-funded patient travel schemes go nowhere near reimbursing the true cost.

Experts suggest the state government should reimburse patients at least 62 cents a kilometre for using their private car, and raise the accommodation allowance to tax office or public servant rates. Although the Federal Government is providing incentives to doctors to relocate to a rural area the scheme is skewed to encourage doctors to move to coastal towns rather than bush outposts. A doctor who moves to Cairns will get double the money on offer for a doctor who moves to inland Orange. The coalition pledged to calibrate incentives to get doctors into towns where they are most needed. Derek believes that we can help heal the bush through the following:

• Doctors – force all specialists’ trainees to do an annual rotation in the bush; overhaul schemes so GPs get extra pay to work inland towns.

• Cancer – more radiotherapy centres.

• Nurses – more funding to nurses in general and specifically chemotherapy nurses.

• Diagnosis – increased funding to bush hospitals for MRI and PET scanners.

• Childbirth – obstetric training and staff for birthing centres at country hospitals.