Rural Australians Urged To Participate In National Survey On Healthcare Access

The Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) and National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) are urging all people who live in rural and remote Australia to fill out a five-minute online survey about access to health services in their communities. Those completing the survey by midnight on Sunday 15 August 2010 will enter the draw to win an Apple iPad.


The national survey aims to determine the level of access to health services available to those who live in the bush and their expectations about access to healthcare.


RDAA President, Dr Nola Maxfield, said: "This survey is about assessing people's satisfaction with access to healthcare in their local area, so RDAA and NRHA can better lobby for more healthcare resources.


"We want participants to feel they can be frank about the access to healthcare they have in their community, without feeling that they are in any way being critical of their local doctors, nurses or other healthcare professionals.


"It is more about the system itself, finding out how satisfied you are with the number of healthcare professionals you have available in your town and whether you believe you have adequate local access to hospital and other health services.


"It gives all rural Australians an opportunity to provide feedback on key issues regarding access to healthcare, such as how long you have to wait for an appointment and how far you have to travel to access healthcare for a range of conditions."


NRHA Executive Director, Gordon Gregory, said: "In this day and age, all Australians should have access to local health services whether they are having a heart attack, are injured in a farming or road accident, are having a baby, or need ongoing treatment for a long-term chronic illness. This should include the one-third of all Australians who live in the bush.


"The survey will help us gather up-to-date information on just how hard it is for rural and remote Australians to get to see doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, physios and a range of other health professionals, so we can make the case for better supports to entice more of these much-needed professionals to country areas."


Those who complete the survey by midnight on Sunday 15 August 2010 will go in the draw to win an Apple iPad thanks to the support of Telstra.


To complete the survey, go here.


All information collected will remain confidential and will be for the use of RDAA and the NRHA only.


The survey has been supported and developed by UltraFeedback.


Source:

Rural Doctors Association of Australia

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