HEALTH outcomes in the bush are failing to keep pace with the standards of urban communities and cancer treatment highlights some significant challenges which must be overcome to bridge the divide.
The Garvan Institute is launching its second annual medical research and rural health report at the National Farmers Federation annual congress today.
Garvan Research Foundation chief executive Andrew Giles said the urban and rural health gap is unacceptable and urgent action is needed.
“If we don’t act now, the gap will continue to grow,” Mr Giles said.
Garvan’s inaugural report documented rural health outcomes generally and highlighted some alarming statistics (such as instances of cancer per 100,000 people that were nearly 25 per cent higher in the bush, with 480 in urban areas compared to 504 in inner regional and 495 in outer regional areas).
Garvan focused entirely on cancer this year, with alarming results. Cancer is Australia’s second biggest killer, after coronary heart disease.
“The further a cancer patient lives from a major city, the more likely they are to die within five years of diagnosis,” Mr Giles said (see infographic above).
The report found people in very remote areas are most likely to die from cancer, with 191.9 deaths per 100,000, for all cancers combined, despite being the least likely to be diagnosed, with 398.3 cases per 100,000.
“People need to be able to live in regional areas and get the same level of health care,” Mr Giles said.
“More resources are needed - last year’s report proved that. And this year’s report on cancer shows we actually need to spend more in order to give the bush the same outcomes as the city.”
Facilities are generally rarer and poorer in the bush, with less access to expert healthcare professionals.
Chemotherapy to treat cancer is one example cited in the report, which found the drop-out rate during treatment in rural public hospitals was 50pc – twice that of private hospitals.
Mr Giles said government must address the challenges posed by the tyranny of distance.
“How are people going to get to the city? Where are they going to stay? And who is going to feed the dog when they are away.” he asked.
Mr Giles said the health gap can be closed and argues Garvan’s cancer report highlighted the need to prioritise further investigation of biomedical research, particularly genomics, and investment in primary health care.
“The ongoing challenge is to ensure that innovation in medicine is equalled by innovative policies that increase access to discovery."
Hope for rural health in New Year
HEARTENING progress has come to rural and regional healthcare, with several new initiatives underway.
Rural Doctors Association of Australia president Dr Ewen McPhee said a key measure is the Coalition’s election promise to create a statutory Rural Health Commissioner to oversee Commonwealth government’s work in the area.
The Commissioner is due to start work early next year. One their priorities will be to oversee delivery of another campaign promise – the Rural Generalist Pathway initiative – which is designed to address a lack of medical professionals in the bush.
“One of the major imperatives that needs to be addressed across country is access to healthcare professionals,” Dr McPhee said.
“We need to make sure we can provide healthcare as close to people’s homes as possible.
“Farmers often delay treatment due to impediments such as long distances, lack of locally skilled practitioners and the costs associated with accessing healthcare.”