Visiting health services for country communities
We are proud to support over 1,000 outreach health services across rural and remote Western Australia to improve access to healthcare for rural communities.
Outreach Health Services
Many communities in regional, rural and remote Australia do not have easy access to medical specialists or allied health professionals who can diagnose and treat a variety of illnesses. Providing access to specialised medical services reduces the patient’s need to travel long distances to attend a consultation or receive treatment, meaning they can stay close to their home and family.
To identify services that are visiting your region, please contact the Outreach team.
Rural Health West administers outreach services on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Health. We are the jurisdictional Fundholder of eight Australian Government Department of Health Outreach programs in Western Australia.
Outreach Programs
Eye and Ear Surgical Support Service (EESS)
EESS aims to increase access to surgical interventions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients with diagnosed eye and ear conditions, who have been placed on a waiting list for surgery.
Healthy Ears - Better Hearing, Better Listening (HEBHBL)
HEBHBL aims to improve the diagnosis, treatment and management of complex ear conditions that arise in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and youth (aged 0-21 years) by increasing access to multidisciplinary ear health teams.
Medical Outreach Indigenous Chronic Disease Program (MOICDP)
MOICDP aims to support the provision of primary health care multidisciplinary teams to prevent, detect and manage chronic diseases in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples who live in urban, rural, regional and remote communities. Chronic disease is defined as ‘a condition that has been (or is likely to be) present for six months or more’.
Rural Health Outreach Fund (RHOF)
RHOF supports outreach activities which address health issues identified in regional, rural and remote locations. This fund places a specific emphasis on the following health priorities; maternity and paediatric health, eye health, mental health and support for chronic disease management.
Visiting Optometrists Scheme (VOS)
VOS aims to improve the eye health of people in regional, rural and remote locations by improving coordination and integration of new and existing eye health services and increasing access to optometry services.
Rural Health Outreach Fund - Pain Management Services (RHOF-PMS)
RHOF-PMS aims to improve health outcomes for people living in rural and remote WA by supporting access to specialist and multidisciplinary pain management services, for people who are experiencing chronic pain. RHOF-PMS will also support upskilling of primary care providers to improve prescribing habits and awareness of appropriate pain management treatments.
Follow-up Ear and Hearing Health Services (FEHHS)
FEHHS aims to provide Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander children who receive hearing assessments through Hearing Australia’s
Hearing Assessment Program-Early Ears (HAP-EE) access to the required follow-up
services.
Coordination of Indigenous Eye Health (CIEH)
CIEH aims to improve access to eye care for Indigenous patients through improved coordination of service, including improved linkages between the range of services required by patients and enhanced delivery of those services.
Ear Health Coordination Program
Rural Health West, in partnership with the Aboriginal Health Council of WA (AHCWA), will provide the Ear Health Coordination Program in WA. This program will work collaboratively with primary health care clinics and other stakeholders to identify and support activity needed to improve ear health.
Outreach Health Services Map
With a few clicks of the mouse you can find out when Rural Health West-funded outreach specialists and allied health teams will be visiting your town.
Go to our Outreach Health Services Map to see the locations, visit dates and instructions on how to access outreach services and refer patients into a service.
Additional information about Outreach Services
Health professionals providing outreach services can apply for funding to cover:
- travel
- accommodation
- meals and incidentals
- administration support
- facility fees
Support may also be extended to provide backfill for public health professionals and under exceptional circumstances a workforce support payment for private health professionals providing outreach to remote and very remote communities.
Please refer to programs Service Delivery Standards for further details.Service providers are required to enter a Service Activity Report (SAR) into the Outreach Management System after each completed visit. See below for each SAR by program:
Access a Quick Reference Guide for the Outreach Management System.To update your Outreach Management System user details, please complete and return the following form to Rural Health West:
Outreach Management System updated user form
All service providers must demonstrate that they have undertaken appropriate cultural awareness and safety training or be willing to undertake training prior to commencing service delivery. A number of suitable training programs and resources can be found on the Cultural Awareness Training page.
The Rural Health West Outreach team employs a number of strategies to support service providers to recruit health professionals to assist with outreach services. If you need help finding a health professional to provide your service, please download a Request for Recruitment Assistance form and email to the Regional Services team.