A different kind of fly-in-fly-out workforce is trying to address the shortage of allied health services in regional Australia. The new model has been welcomed, especially by residents who have been forced to drive for hours to neighbouring towns to access medical care. But rural General Practitioners say more needs to be done.
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00:00In the skies over regional Australia, medical help is on the way.
00:06Hopeton on WA's south coast has a population of about 1,000 people,
00:10but a shortage of medical specialists mean some patients are travelling hundreds of kilometres for treatment.
00:16Esperance, which is about two and a half hours away, or to go to Albany, which is around four hours drive, to do OT and speak.
00:23Now a new model of care means treatment is available at home.
00:27In this aeroplane, most of the time we're taking an occupational therapist, a speech therapist as well,
00:32sometimes physios and psychologists as well.
00:35It massively cuts down on the travel time for the clinicians,
00:38allowing them to have a larger caseload and spend more time on the ground with our client.
00:42The FIFO Health Service travels to 45 towns across Australia,
00:46offering a range of services from paniatry to psychology, and it's seeing results.
00:51You've developed the rapport, the connections, and the children obviously also have a stronger connection as well.
00:58The service is free for NDIS participants who make up 75% of patients,
01:03while private patients must pay a gap fee, but experts say some are missing out.
01:08They only see a very, very small percentage of the community.
01:13I'm talking like 1% or 2% when there is a much, much greater untapped need.
01:21If we could get a little bit more funding, either from state government or local government, that would be fantastic.
01:26The federal government says it's spending $24 million to trial new care models
01:31to improve staffing and access to services in regional areas,
01:35but residents say those services aren't meeting the demand.
01:38There are so many towns that need services that don't have them.
01:42There are rural communities looking to the skies for help.