In relation to the lecture about the Australian rural healthcare sector, I found particularly gripping the challenges it faces. The issue of any medical treatment or service accessibility is widely spread across indigenous populations, even in developed countries. As a rule, rural healthcare facilities are limited to primary and emergency care, have personnel shortages, and lack vital equipment.
In addition, the low socio-economic status of rural areas does not allow them to improve the hospitals’ conditions on a regular basis. Hence, there is a number of problems such institutions face when it comes to providing medical help.
Primarily, workforce distribution and specialization are the crucial factors affecting high-quality service provision. Normally, hospitals lack medical personnel, not to mention the fact that most employees are poorly qualified, which does not allow them to perform highly specialized tasks.
Moreover, the infrastructure is not typically well-developed in such areas. For example, there are no cardiology or surgery departments which means that the patient has to be transferred to a nearby city to undergo an operation. It is extremely pitiful that most of the patients die in the ambulance while trying to reach the closest healthcare center.
Other challenges include a lack of mental health professionals, which signifies a greater risk of exposure to psychological problems. It is estimated that the rural populations are likely to suffer twice from mental disorders as those living in the big cities.
Finally, maternity and childbirth services remain at a poor level due to the outdated procedures and equipment medical workers use. As a result, all these factors significantly contribute to poorer nations’ health and the general decline in the healthcare field.