Providing health checks for rural Australians
Helping to save rural lives with free health checks
It’s a long way to anywhere in rural Australia. Sometimes hours if you’re living remotely. But it’s not only the distance in kilometres that hurts. It’s the gap that exists in access to skilled clinicians, equipment, and health programs.
We provide free health checks to people from rural and remote locations. Our mobile health clinic is available for rural events. Giving those who don’t see a doctor regularly a chance for a health check-up. We examine key risk factors and provide information to people with health concerns.
Why health checks are needed
- Statistics show that rural and remote mortality rates are 1.8 times higher than in metropolitan areas.
- 3 in 5 rural and remote people don’t see a specialist when it’s required, because there isn’t one close by.
- Overall, people living in rural and remote areas have lower life expectancy and greater chance of disease.
“Many of those attending our free health clinic had not seen a doctor in five years.”
How our health clinics work
We set up our health check clinic so that anyone can pop into our stall at rural events for a free check-up. We check for diabetes, chronic disease, and cardiovascular risk. As well as chat with patients about their general wellbeing. We give patients a written health assessment. And, where necessary, we encourage them to seek further medical advice. Often checks highlight important health concerns which require further investigation.
Volunteer doctors and medical students under supervision conduct the health check. We recruit medical students from the University of Queensland Rural Clinical School (UQRCS) and the James Cook University (JCU) Rural Generalist Program. This is a great chance for students to work with rural people in practice and encourages more practitioners in our rural and remote communities. All checks are overseen by a practicing Clinician.
“It is our vision to offer health checks to every rural and remote community across Australia.
We know from experience they reduce risk of disease and improve health outcomes for rural and remote people.
Rural Doctors Foundation has run health check clinics at Rockhampton’s BEEF week since 2015. BEEF Week is a cattle exhibition which attracts thousands of rural and remote visitors every year.
Rural Doctors Foundation designed the free health check clinic in collaboration with University of Queensland Rural Clinical School (UQRCS) and James Cook University (JCU) Generalist Medical Training Program.
We provide visitors with a free non-invasive health check to assess their individual health status. Each health check provides an assessment designed in line with RACGP guidelines. We provide each patient with a copy of their calculated disease risk. They are also encouraged to visit their local General Practitioner (GP) to further discuss concerns. There were a few patrons identified with major health risks who were referred directly to the hospital in Rockhampton for further testing.
In addition to providing this valuable service, we also conduct a public health survey. The findings from our research provide insight into the health of rural and remote Australians and their concerns regarding their health and access to health care. It has also informed the service model for future health clinics, including our GPs4RuralDocs program providing health care specifically for rural health practitioners.