Outcome 6: Rural Health

Outcome 6 aims to improve access to health services for people living in regional, rural and remote areas.

To help achieve this in 2007–08, the Department managed programs to support a range of services in rural and remote areas, such as specialist, allied and community health services. The Department also delivered programs to support emergency evacuations, privately insurable health services, and coordination grants for small community health care services. Other areas of focus in 2007–08 were health promotion and disease prevention activities in remote communities.

This chapter reports on the major activities undertaken by the Department during the year, addressing each of the key strategic directions and performance indicators published in the Outcome 6 chapters of the 2007–08 Health and Ageing Portfolio Budget Statements and 2007–08 Health and Ageing Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements.

Outcome 6 was managed in 2007–08 by the Primary and Ambulatory Care Division and the Department’s State and Territory Offices. Other program areas across the Department also contributed to this outcome.¹

¹A list of rural health initiatives by outcome can be found later in this chapter.