At Rural Doctors Foundation, we know that caring for those who care for others is essential to the strength and sustainability of rural healthcare.

That’s why we are deeply grateful to One For Health for their generous donation, which is enabling us to expand after‑hours consultations for rural health practitioners through our GPs4RuralDocs program – reaching more doctors when they need support most.

This partnership is more than funding. It is a powerful example of what can happen when purpose‑driven clinicians come together to address health inequity.  Not just for patients, but for the workforce that cares for them.

Expanding after‑hours care for rural doctors

Rural and remote practitioners often face long hours, professional isolation and limited access to confidential healthcare. Through the support of One For Health, Rural Doctors Foundation can now offer an increased number of after‑hours GP consultations, ensuring rural doctors and health practitioners can access timely, confidential care that fits around demanding and unpredictable work schedules.

By removing practical barriers to care, this promotes practitioner wellbeing, workforce sustainability and safer care for rural communities.

The story behind One For Health

One For Health is an Australian charity founded by junior doctors with a simple but powerful idea: giving is more effective when we do it together. The organisation unites early‑career doctors who commit around 1% of their income into a collective pool, which is then donated to carefully selected charities addressing health inequities in Australia and beyond.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, One For Health partners with organisations already doing impactful work, amplifying their reach through pooled, tax‑deductible donations. This model makes philanthropy accessible, sustainable and meaningful for doctors at the very beginning of their careers.

At its heart, One For Health is about community. It is about colleagues supporting colleagues, and clinicians using their shared privilege to improve health outcomes for others.

Making a tangible difference through collective giving

Since its founding, One For Health has already supported a range of frontline charities tackling health inequity in practical, community‑led ways. Through its collective giving model, the organisation has directed pooled donations to initiatives such as Streetside Medics, which provides free primary healthcare to people experiencing homelessness, and Kombi Clinic, a Brisbane‑based service delivering hepatitis C testing and treatment to people accessing drug and alcohol services.

More recently, One For Health has partnered with Project Yumi, a collaborative maternal health initiative working across Australia and Papua New Guinea, supporting improved access to obstetric care and clinician upskilling in underserved settings. And now Rural Doctors Foundation!

These partnerships reflect One For Health’s commitment to backing organisations already doing impactful work and amplifying that impact through collective, values‑driven philanthropy.

A man with a vision

One For Health was co‑founded by Dr Oliver Wightman, a rural generalist registrar and passionate advocate for health equity. While graduating from Medical School into Internship, Dr Wightman and a group of his peers recognised a tension for junior doctors: transitioning from socially conscious and engaged students into time‑poor clinicians, leading to a disconnect from the causes that originally drew them to medicine. 

His response was both practical and inspiring. The One For Health team sought to connect their peers to impactful projects tackling health inequity, through a community of junior doctors willing to pledge 1% of their wage. One For Health’s model of collective giving amplifies the power of each giver, whilst allowing them to stay connected to the values that underpin their work amid busy life in the hospital.

Now serving as Chair of One For Health, Dr Wightman continues to champion a model of philanthropy that is transparent, collaborative and grounded in lived experience – particularly the realities of working in rural and remote healthcare.

One For Health has raised over $75,000 funded by a growing community of almost 50 early-career doctors. 

A shared commitment to health equity

One For Health’s mission is clear: to unite junior doctors to tackle health inequities by supporting organisations already making a difference. Their focus spans communities experiencing geographic, socioeconomic and systemic disadvantage, including rural and remote Australians.

This aligns seamlessly with the work of Rural Doctors Foundation and the GPs4RuralDocs program, which exists to ensure rural practitioners can access confidential, high‑quality healthcare wherever they work.

Through this donation, One For Health is helping to care for the carers. They recognise that a healthy, supported workforce is fundamental to closing health gaps across rural Australia.

We were especially honoured to receive this support, having been shortlisted by the One For Health team and ultimately selected by their community of supporters. This recognition reflects a strong endorsement from early‑career doctors who understand the importance of caring for their own health and wellbeing, and who see the value of the GPs4RuralDocs program in supporting sustainable rural practice.

Giving better, together

Thanks to One For Health, its community of givers, and Dr Oliver Wightman for their vision, generosity and trust. Their support is already making a tangible difference to the lives of rural doctors, nurses and allied health practitioners – and, by extension, to the communities they serve.

Together, we are proving that when clinicians come together with purpose, compassion and collaboration, we truly can give better –  together.