Gregory Murphy1
1NSW Ambulance, NSW, Australia
Biography:
Greg is a paramedic working for NSW Ambulance and based in a rural location. He has completed his Masters of Advanced Paramedicine with the University of Tasmania, completing research in the area of access to healthcare in rural and remote areas. Greg has an interest in primary care, research and innovative developments to provide quality primary healthcare.
Abstract:
Introduction: People who live in rural and remote places have limited access to health services and significant barriers exist based on geographical location. Health equity is a key driver for health services presently and is explored through the experiences of people living with chronic disease.
This study explored the primary outcome of rural community experiences for accessing health services and the potential feasibility to address any barriers with a mobile healthcare model.
Methods: A purposive sample of persons living in the northern rivers area of New South Wales with chronic health conditions were included for recruitment. Narrative interviews explored their experience of accessing health services in rural areas. The analysis was conducted narratively, with a semantic approach used to identify explicit meanings within the data. Themes were drawn from the analysis using open coding.
Results: Participants with chronic health conditions reported various difficulties in accessing healthcare. Barriers included geographical remoteness, physical limitations related to their conditions, prolonged wait times for specialist referrals, and external social influences. Participants also highlighted environmental limitations such as the impact of recent extreme weather events and the COVID-19 pandemic, which further hindered their ability to address their healthcare needs.
Conclusion: Addressing the healthcare crisis in rural NSW has centred on boosting general practitioners and community nurses, however funding, employment, and retention remain challenging. Community paramedicine proposes a regional primary healthcare model, utilising paramedics to reach patients throughout NSW. Community paramedics, operating within an integrated healthcare practitioner framework, offer care coordination and augment existing workforce schemes. This approach presents a viable solution to the mounting barriers confronting patients with chronic health conditions.