Image (left to right): West Coast Council General Manager David Midson, Deputy National Rural Health Commissioner Associate Professor Dr Faye McMillan, Chief Allied Health Officer Dr Anne-marie Boxall, and workshop facilitator Professor Sabina Knight (James Cook University Centre for Rural and Remote Health).
The ONRHC and one of our office holders convened the meeting:
- Dr Anne-marie Boxall, Commonwealth Chief Allied Health Officer
- Adjunct Professor Ruth Stewart, National Rural Health Commissioner
- Associate Professor Faye McMillan, Deputy National Rural Health Commissioner
The first National Rural Health Commissioner, Professor Paul Worley, recommended that the Australian Government establish a series of service and learning consortia (SLC) for allied health across rural and remote Australia.
Under the SLC model, local private, public and not-for-profit service providers, training providers, and community representatives collaborate across multi-town and multi-sector networks to:
- create sustainable allied health positions
- increase access to services in rural areas.
Workshop participants discussed the SLC model and how to tailor it to regions' needs. They also discussed case studies and funding sources for pilot programs.
For more details, see the workshop communique.
