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Close to 500 health students each year are undertaking placements and their university degrees in Orange, providing a boost to health care in the region and equipping the next generation of students with the right skills and confidence to work regionally.
Federal Member for Calare, Andrew Gee said today during a visit to Charles Sturt University, that the university had in 2020 facilitated around 470 nursing, midwifery and allied health placements in Orange, equating to more than 1,835 weeks of rural training.
Mr Gee and Federal Regional Health Minister, Dr David Gillespie visited the local campus, which is enabling students to obtain clinical experience in public and private health services.
“Having student doctors and other health professionals undertaking training in Orange has created jobs and given local patients increased access to health care,” Mr Gee said.
Mr Gee said the Australian Government funds the Orange training facilities through its Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) program. The program aims to improve the recruitment and retention of doctors and health professionals in rural and remote Australia.
“Charles Sturt University has received almost $13.5 million from the Federal Government for its RHMT activities over the past three years,” Mr Gee said.
“Additionally, this year a partnership between CSU and Western Sydney University has enabled a Joint Program in Medicine with 37 places for medical students to get underway here in Orange.
“This program is supported by our Government; we provided capital works funding of $22 million from 2019 to 2022 to establish the initiative.
“Our region fought for years to get this medical school established against entrenched opposition. We can all take pride in the fact that it will be training doctors in the bush for practice in the bush for generations to come.
“Country people deserve the same access to medical services as people in the cities, and the CSU Medical School will play a key role in making sure we have this equality for our country communities,” said Mr Gee.
Minister Gillespie, a former regional doctor, said The Nationals understand that when students undertake training in a regional or rural area, like Orange, it means they are more likely to choose to live and work outside the major cities, once they are fully qualified.
“That’s why expanding rural training is a key part of the Government’s comprehensive strategy to increase the number of doctors, nurses, dentists and other health professionals serving our rural people,” Dr Gillespie said.
Mr Gee and Dr Gillespie visited Charles Sturt’s School of Rural Medicine based at the campus in Orange, one of the University’s five major sites. The University’s Rural Medical School and Three Rivers Department of Rural Health supports nursing, midwifery, dentistry and allied health students to study and undertake placements within the region.
The University’s Rural Medical School is part of the Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network which the Government is developing to build on rural undergraduate training through the RHMT program, to support a continuum for doctors to learn, train and work in the regions through five rurally based medical school programs.
Charles Sturt Vice-Chancellor Professor Renée Leon said the University has long been one of regional Australia’s most reliable and comprehensive pipelines of highly skilled, ready-to-work healthcare graduates.
“The Joint Program in Medicine is unique in Australia in that all clinical and classroom training takes place in regional settings, she said.
“The Program has been designed to help address the persistent health workforce gaps in rural, regional and remote communities.”
“Our medicine students study alongside our offerings in nursing and allied health, who are also critical to the health outcomes of regional Australians,” she said.

In partnership with state and territory governments and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health leaders, the Morrison Government has released a national policy framework to improve health and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over the next 10 years.
Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt and Minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, said the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2021–2031 would make a significant contribution.
“The Health Plan is the first national health document to address and embed the health targets and Priority Reforms of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap,” Minister Hunt said.
“In particular, the Health Plan prioritises the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health sector and the imperative for mainstream health services to provide culturally safe and responsive care.
“The Health Plan represents a fundamental shift in the way governments work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, communities and organisations.”
The Health Plan recognises that historic and systemic factors have resulted in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people having a burden of disease 2.3 times that of non-Indigenous Australians.
Minister Wyatt said the Health Plan will guide existing and future investment.
“This year we have already announced $254 million to improve infrastructure in community controlled health services, $45 million to improve healthy birthweight under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, and a further $781 million, predominantly for aged care and mental health – measures all strongly aligned with the priorities in the Health Plan,” Minister Wyatt said.
“Further opportunities, including through funding reprioritisation, will be identified as we begin the important task of implementing the Health Plan.”
CEO of Indigenous Allied Health Australia and Chair of the Health Plan Working Group, Donna Murray, said for sustainable change the leadership of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their voices was essential.
“It is important that we have worked in true partnership with government to develop this Health Plan, as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people know what is best for our own health and wellbeing – which we provided in My Life, My Lead consultation processes,” Ms Murray said.
“We have ensured that the Health Plan reinforces the importance of strengths-based and rights-based approaches that embed the cultural and social determinants of health in determining our own priorities and solutions.
“I welcome, too, that the Health Plan is informed by the fundamental role that connection to Country, family, kinship and community play in our health and wellbeing.”
The Health Plan will hold governments and the mainstream health system accountable for progress against its objectives, through an accountability framework and independent
mid-cycle and end-of-cycle progress reviews.
The Health Plan complements the National Preventive Health Strategy, launched this week, with significant focus on preventive health for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
 

A new $34 million research centre will strengthen the future of aged care delivery in Australia.
The Aged Care Centre for Growth and Translational Research to open next year at Flinders University in Adelaide will help ensure vital research leads to tangible outcomes for the aged care sector.
The work will initially focus on four priority areas – dementia care, restorative care and rehabilitation, mental health and wellbeing, and social isolation.
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Senator Richard Colbeck, said the centre was an important investment in improving the quality of aged care services.
“This is a big step forward when it comes to ensuring the needs of older Australians in care are not just met, but exceeded,” Minister Colbeck said.
“The Morrison Government is supporting the aged care sector to make improvements across workforce capability, care quality and effectiveness.
“To do that, it’s important for the Government to back innovation and accelerate the uptake of new technologies and research to benefit our ageing population.”
Ultimately, the centre will provide a platform for strengthened care for senior and vulnerable Australians and is part of the overall $17.7 billion the Morrison Government is providing in response to the Royal Commission into aged care quality and safety.
The first step in establishing the centre will be developing a new knowledge and implementation hub.
“This web-based hub will give the aged care sector access to information and products that set out practically how aged care can be delivered in the best possible way, based on comprehensive, evidence-based research,” Minister Colbeck said.
First round of applications at the centre open in February 2022. This will include support for aged care workers to trial new ways of delivering care.
“Workers in aged care will have the opportunity to share their learnings with other services through communities of practice and open forums on the knowledge hub,” Minister Colbeck said.
The focus of the research will be on how care and clinical activities are organised, delivered by different workers, and deployed in different care settings.
The centre will also support sector-wide improvements in care quality by increasing and expanding the capacity of the aged care workforce to access, understand and use research outcomes in their day-to-day work.
Flinders University Vice-Chancellor Professor Colin Stirling said the national centre will enable collaboration between university researchers, industry partners and the aged care workforce to effectively address real and meaningful systemic changes for ageing Australians.
“The Aged Care Centre for Growth and Translational Research will bring together aged care staff and our researchers to carry out projects in collaboration with our industry partners, directly facilitating improvements in the sector,” Prof. Stirling said.
“We’ll apply the research through education and training programs to introduce innovations and improve caring practices – because we can’t afford to leave behind Australians who got us to where we are today.”
The research centre is part of the Government’s aged care workforce strategy to deliver vital services, improve quality, care and viability for senior Australians, under its $17.7 billion aged care reform package.
Minister Colbeck said the centre would evolve into an industry-led independent body.
“The Australian Government has provided funding over three years, and a key goal is for the centre to work towards self-sufficiency from 1 July 2024.”
The centre is expected to be operational by February 2022.

The Morrison Government will invest $102 million to expand, strengthen and enhance Australia’s National Dementia Support Program.
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services, Richard Colbeck said ensuring access to high quality and effective support for those living with dementia, their families and carers was a priority.
Between 386,200 and 472,000 people are living with dementia across the country, with an additional 1.6 million people caring for them.
“This funding underpins the Morrison Government’s focus to ensure our most vulnerable loved ones receive the high-quality personalised care they deserve,” Minister Colbeck said.
“It also more than doubles annual funding for the program and will be delivered by Dementia Australia.”
The investment means the National Dementia Helpline will start 24/7 operations ensuring support is only a phone call away at any time of the day or night, increasing the total volume of calls from around 35,000 up to 80,000 a year.
The expanded and enhanced support program will also deliver:

• Improved access to counselling, post-diagnostic support programs, education sessions, support groups, and peer mentoring for coaching, advice and carer support to around 30,000 people.
• Outbound call support following up with people recently diagnosed with dementia and their carers to connect them to information and services as early as possible;
• A targeted campaign to GPs and clinicians so people with dementia get access to more timely diagnosis and ongoing support; and
• counselling and other supports for up to 15,000 people diagnosed with dementia each year, and their carers.

“This investment will improve the lives of people living with dementia right across the nation,” Minister Colbeck said.
“The recent Dementia in Australia 2021 report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare clearly demonstrates the increasing significance of dementia as a health, aged care and societal issue.
“The Government is driving aged care reforms and investing in targeted and more widely available services and programs for people living with dementia, their families and carers.”
Dementia was one of four areas of concern for immediate action identified in the final report of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
Recommendation 15 focused on the establishment of a comprehensive, clear and accessible post-diagnosis support pathway for people living with dementia, their carers and families.
“Dementia Australia provides invaluable support to people living with dementia, their families, carers and friends so that they can have the best quality of life possible,” Minister Colbeck said.
“The Government’s funding means Dementia Australia can expand, enhance its reach and continue to deliver life-changing services.
“As well as providing practical and helpful assistance, this program also gives social support so people living with dementia feel included and valued in their local communities while living fulfilling lives.”
The 2021 Budget allocated $229.4 million to improve the quality of life and care for people living with dementia.
For more information about the National Dementia Support Program, please visit Dementia Australia at www.dementia.org.au.

More than 100 students studying medicine, nursing, midwifery, allied health and dentistry have completed the rural part of their training in Mildura under Morrison Joyce Government-funded programs, which has boosted access to doctors, dentists and health professionals for local patients.
Federal Member for Mallee, Dr Anne Webster said the Morrison Joyce Government supported regional and rural health training, because it resulted in more doctors and health professionals staying in the bush after they graduate.
Visiting La Trobe and Monash universities in Mildura today with Federal Regional Health Minister, Dr David Gillespie, Dr Webster said Federal Government investment through the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training (RHMT) program gave more students more opportunities to train locally.
“To achieve a stable, reliable and dedicated workforce in healthcare throughout Mallee, we need to pull out every tool in the toolbox. Regional training centres like Monash University and La Trobe University are essential to achieving this outcome,” Dr Webster said.
“Our Government provides $6.65 million to La Trobe University under the RHMT program, so students can train and do placements here in Mildura.
“Last year, La Trobe students completed more than 190 nursing, midwifery and allied health placements in Mildura, equating to more than 835 training weeks.
“Additionally, our government provides funding of $48.3 million to Monash University under the RHMT Program.”
Dr Gillespie, a regional doctor for more than 30 years, said in Mildura last year, 16 Monash students completed 12-month medical placements; 21 completed six-month medical placements; and more than 25 short-term medical placements took place, equating to more than 160 training weeks.
Additionally, Monash students completed more than 45 nursing, midwifery and allied health placements, equating to more than 170 completed training weeks.
“To ensure this can run smoothly, 14 local staff support the students across the two programs,” Dr Webster said.
Minister Gillespie said the Government was tackling the challenges associated with Australia’s health workforce maldistribution head-on.
“The RHMT Program and the Murray-Darling Medical Schools Network are two of the Government’s flagship training programs aimed at bridging the city-country divide in health services and training opportunities,” Dr Gillespie said.
“These programs are a win-win-win for students, patients and host communities, which benefit from the local jobs created and the placements trainees undertake. They expose students to many of the unique challenges facing rural patients.”
Dr Webster said that training health students in regional areas is an essential step to ensuring a sustainable health workforce in regional areas such as Mildura.
“The reality is that we have enough medical graduates, but the distribution of those graduates is heavily weighted in metropolitan areas. I want to see more health professionals choosing to come to regional centres and invest into the local community on a long-term basis,” Dr Webster said.
“The Liberal and Nationals Government will continue to fight to see solutions for regional people. Regional, rural and remote Australia are not an afterthought for this government: they are a priority.
“That is why I continue to fight for funding for a biomed undergraduate course for La Trobe University in Mildura. This would provide a proven entrance to a medical degree in Mildura and coupled with the post graduate courses available at Monash would secure workforce into the future.”
Monash University receives $7.88 million in funding from the Morrison Joyce Government for a new ‘rural intention’ stream to the existing intake of its four-year graduate entry medical program in Gippsland; 30 students who started this program in Gippsland in 2021 will move to Mildura and Bendigo to complete the remainder of their degree.