Rural Innovations Changing Healthcare Forum
The 8th Rural Innovation Changing Healthcare Forum (RICH) was held on 24 March 2021.
The theme was 'rural health bounding forwards' – showcasing how service providers, consumers, communities and other sectors have embraced hope, strength and connectivity; and moved forward from hardships imposed by droughts, bushfires and the pandemic.
Visit the RICH 2021 page for oral and ePoster presentations and the RICH 2021 evaluation report.
Improving the Rural Patient Journey Initiative
The refreshed Friendly Faces Helping Hands (FFHH) website contains information on 38 major metropolitan and rural referral hospital services. The aim is to help patients and their families navigate city services when healthcare is required away from home, kin and country.
As part of the ACI Aboriginal 8 Ways of Learning (A8WOL) program, an Aboriginal co-design group has been convened to review the FFHH website content, resources and promotional material for Aboriginal communities and organisations. An Aboriginal artist was commissioned in May to work with the group to develop resources.
Implementation of the FFHH website and resources will be fast-tracked from July onwards, to promote and embed FFHH across local health districts, NSW Ambulance, consumer groups, NSW Rural Doctors Network and Aboriginal organisations.
Friendly Faces Helping Hands flyer.
Rural Local Health District Health Awards and ACI Innovation Awards
As part of the 8th annual Rural Local Health District Health Awards and ACI Innovation Awards, the Rural Health Network will award a rural team who has addressed an issue of using existing resources, embedded the change and for the potential of transferability and sustainability.
The awards will run from June to August 2021.
Personnel updates
Two positions are available on the Rural Health Network Executive for a term of up to five years:
- Aboriginal consumer representative
- Aboriginal medical service representative.
Expressions of interest can be sent to Jenny.Preece@health.nsw.gov.au
Find out more and contact the Rural Health Network.