Outback Communities Set To Benefit From Federal Health Grant
MEDIA RELEASE
Outback Futures is delighted by the Federal Health Minister’s commitment of $1.5 million over the next 3 years to support innovation in the way mental health and wellbeing services are delivered in the bush.
CEO, Brent Sweeney, says the funding will allow Outback Futures to evaluate and enhance its Work In Work Out (WIWO) workforce model which brings professionals – such as psychologists, counsellors, occupational therapists, speech pathologists and social workers – into selected communities for regular in-person clinics, followed up by telehealth appointments.
“Our WIWO model, which is bush informed, has allowed us to effectively and consistently provide a wide range of allied health services to our clients that they may not otherwise have been able to access because of their remoteness,” Mr Sweeney says.
“It also means we can attract and retain highly skilled clinicians who live in urban areas and still be fully connected to their bush clients through regular in person visits and telehealth. It really is the best of both worlds for both the client and clinician.”
“Your postcode should not determine whether or not you can access allied health services and we applaud the Australian Government for looking at innovative ways to support people in rural and remote areas.”
The Australian Government’s $1.5 million grant to Outback Futures to improve access to allied health professionals in remote areas, will focus on the five rural areas in central and western Queensland of Blackall-Tambo, Barcaldine, Longreach, Winton and Cloncurry.
The grant is part of a $24.7 million, four-year Australian Government investment under the Innovative Models of Care Program. The program trials new ways of delivering multidisciplinary primary care in rural and remote communities, to then evaluate whether they lead to better health outcomes.
Ends
Media Contact:
Deann Stevens, Outback Futures
M: 0409 390 004
E: deann.stevens@outbackfutures.org.au
W: www.outbackfutures.org.au
