The Resilient Backbone of Rural Healthcare

Delivering high-quality healthcare in rural settings is no insignificant feat. It is a jigsaw puzzle of factors: limited resources, geographical constraints, sparse populations make it uniquely challenging. Yet, resilient rural healthcare organisations have weathered these elements, underscoring their importance as the backbone of rural communities.

Inspirations Behind the Innovations

Through resourcefulness and commitment to their mission, some rural healthcare organisations have successfully innovated service delivery. Here are a handful of their inspiring stories:

The Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands is a mountainous region encompassing northwest Scotland in the United Kingdom. Loch Ness is at the centre, overlooked by the ruins of medieval Urquhart Castle and known for mythical monster “Nessie”. Northeast, near the city of Inverness, dolphins swim in the Moray Firth. Southwest, in the Western Highlands, trails wind up Ben Nevis, the U.K.’s highest peak, and red deer roam Glencoe valley with its waterfalls.

Scenic but sparsely populated and mountainous, the region presents major difficulties for healthcare provision. Complex care needs in the remote Scottish islands spurred the development of an innovative telemedicine service. Severe weather and vast distances are no longer barriers to medical services, thanks to digital technologies that bridge the miles. Additionally three organisations were opened in the capital of the Highlands, Inverness, to provide ophthalmology and orthopaedic services, research and medical education and rural health education.

The National Treatment Centre Inverness

The National Treatment Centre - Highland (NTC Highland or NTC-H) is part of a national network of treatment centres funded by the Scottish Government, and hosted by NHS Highland. The NTC was opened to patients in April 2023 and delivers state of the art ophthalmology and orthopaedic health care to the people of the North of Scotland. The Centre is a purpose built facility accommodating an entire eye care service, providing a range of surgical and outpatient services. Clinicians at the centre also deliver a range of orthopaedic care.

The Centre for Health Science

Located in Inverness, this center is a hub for healthcare and biotechnology research, education, and business development. It was the first building in Scotland to fully integrate healthcare education within a multi-professional environment. The center is home to the Highland Health Sciences Library, lecture theaters, meeting rooms, and a Clinical Skills Centre. 

The Centre for Rural Health Sciences

Part of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), this center offers education and research for health and social care professionals. It has campuses in Inverness and Stornoway, and conducts applied research to improve health and wellbeing in the Highlands and Islands.

Western Australia

The Rural Clinical School of Western Australia (RCSWA)

The Rural Clinical School of Western Australia (RCSWA) was established in 2002 to help deliver better health outcomes for people living in country Western Australia (WA), one of the most sparsely populated areas of the world. Its aims were to foster an exceptional locally trained, research-driven, collegiate, academic and clinical community, providing equitable healthcare to rural and remote WA.

The RCSWA helps rural communities sustain a locally trained and loyal medical workforce by placing penultimate and final year medical students across a network of 15 sites. Students gain valuable hands-on experience and professional mentoring throughout the 12-month program. Peer-reviewed research shows that students who undertake an RCSWA placement are four times more likely to return to work in regional areas compared to others.

Karratha Health Campus Pilbara, Western Australia

Karratha is a small city in the Pilbara Region of the remote state of Western Australia adjoining the port of Dampier on the Indian Ocean, located over 1500 Km from state capital Perth. Despite its small size and relatively isolated location, its importance rests in the fact that it is the hub of Australia's vast natural resources and biggest multinational companies.

At a cost of A$173 million, the Karratha Health Campus is the biggest investment in a public hospital ever undertaken in regional Western Australia. Opened in 2018, the health campus has been built in the town’s centre and replaces the old Nickol Bay Hospital, now permanently closed. It has world class healthcare facilities bringing together many services under one roof and providing valuable support to smaller regional hospitals including Roebourne, Tom Price, Paraburdoo and Onslow.

In addition to outstanding emergency and hospital care, the new Karratha Health Campus provides a comprehensive 'one-stop shop' for the delivery of integrated health services including physiotherapy, speech therapy, counselling, community health nursing and community mental health.

Facilities include: 

A new 40-bed facility with significantly expanded emergency department. 

• New CT scanner, surgical ward, maternity wing and delivery suites. 
• Expanded facilities for outpatients and essential services such as child health and medical imaging, brought together in a single health care hub. 
• World-class telehealth services 
• Helipad 

Canada

Gotcare and Quinte Health

Gotcare, a national health technology start-up reimagining health services in the home, has partnered with Quinte Health and the Reach Alliance at the University of Toronto to launch their AI-enabled Health Ambassador care platform in the Hastings region of Ontario, Canada.  Only 8% of doctors in Ontario work outside urban centres leaving the rest of the province with a deficit of primary care physicians.

Gotcare plans to bring its AI-enabled triage and health monitoring tools into residents’ homes. Eligible residents will be matched with a Health Ambassador, an upskilled community care provider with digital health skills, who collaborate with virtual clinicians to deliver as much care as possible in the home setting.

The Health Ambassador care platform will bridge gaps in home care and primary care for residents who do not have a family doctor, and for patients who require an alternate level of care (ALC), rather than keeping them in the hospital. Across Canada, approximately 15% of acute-level care beds in hospitals are filled by ALC patients due to a lack of structural support for care within their own homes.

Lessons Learnt and Impact Made

These organisations are just a few examples of the many which are making an impact on rural healthcare. Undeniably they illustrate triumph over adversity with two common themes - adaptability and community engagement. Indeed, their innovative strategies have shaped the future of rural health care.

Their impact is profound. Whether it is the chronically ill patient who can now access specialist advice without trekking miles, or the local community whose health literacy has improved via shared knowledge, the positive effects are palpable and powerful.

Looking Ahead: A Call to Embrace Innovation

Each rural healthcare organisation has its own unique tale of overcoming challenges. Yet, they all resonate strongly that adaptability and community engagement are key. These inspiring stories underscore the need to think outside the conventional, to innovate and to collaborate, in order to continue delivering exceptional healthcare services, no matter where patients call home.