The Royal Flying Doctor Service Tasmania has been announced as a provider of primary health care
services for the Glamorgan Spring Bay municipality.
RFDS Tasmania is one of five organisations which successfully tendered to deliver services for people
living with chronic conditions under an Australian Government-funded program aimed at improving the
health outcomes of people in rural communities.
Primary Health Tasmania general manager Susan Powell said when the tender process ended in
December last year, Primary Health Tasmania identified some service gaps in two rural communities
with high levels of chronic conditions – Kentish and Glamorgan Spring Bay.
“Last week we announced we would fund Rural Health Tasmania to provide services in the Kentish area,
and today we can advise that RFDS Tasmania will work in Glamorgan Spring Bay to address gaps in
services for people with chronic conditions,” Ms Powell said.
RFDS Tasmania has also received funding from Primary Health Tasmania to provide services to the
Break O’Day, Dorset, Flinders Island and George Town communities. Diabetes Tasmania will also
provide services for people with type 2 diabetes in Glamorgan Spring Bay and 20 other rural
communities.
RFDS Tasmania CEO John Kirwan said his organisation would work closely with the Glamorgan Spring
Bay Council, local health care providers and the broader community to deliver clinical care targeted to
the needs of people with dementia, heart disease, mental illness and respiratory disease.
“As well as the aeromedical services we have traditionally been known for, we have a strong on-theground
presence in Tasmania and in rural communities in particular,” Mr Kirwan said.
“We hope to form a coalition of services across the Glamorgan Spring Bay municipality to ensure people
with chronic conditions have the right care in the right place, at the right time.”
Mr Kirwan said RFDS Tasmania aimed to use local health professionals and facilities wherever possible
and hoped to be able to value-add to other services such as dental services.
In late 2016, RFDS Tasmania ran a dental pilot program for all children at the Swansea Primary School.
More than 60% of students took part in the program.
Of the children provided with preventive dental health services, 5% said they had not been to a dental
clinic before (1 in 12 children). Of the children who had been to a dental clinic before, the average length
of time since their last visit was 12 months.
“The evaluation of this trial is being used to inform the new statewide dental program expected to
commence in April, that will for the first time include eligible adults,” Mr Kirwan said.
“We believe there will be considerable synergies between our new dental health and rural health
programs which, combined with our approach of working with other local service providers, will make a
real difference to the health of people in the Glamorgan Spring Bay area.”
RFDS Tasmania and Primary Health Tasmania met this morning with local service providers and
Glamorgan Spring Bay Council representatives to begin discussions around service priorities, including
gaps in clinical care for people with one or more chronic illnesses.
In addition to funding for the new rural primary health services, Primary Health Tasmania has provided
transition funding to the Glamorgan Spring Bay Council until 31 March to ensure people using previously
funded services can safely transition to other clinical services.
More information about the new rural primary health care funding program is available on the Primary
Health Tasmania website: www.primaryhealthtas.com.au/commissioning/rural-primary-health-servicescommissioning
Primary Health Tasmania is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation working to connect care and keep
Tasmanians well and out of hospital. It was established on 1 July 2015 under the Australian Government’s Primary
Health Networks Program to support and enable a coordinated, primary care-focused health system.
Jenny Denholm Manager – Communications and Marketing
