For the past few years now, HCA has been involved in an ongoing initiative to trial an innovative workforce solution to address mental health needs in small rural towns. HCA’s work has been introduced and reported upon in several earlier blogs. This project, undertaken with Susan Nancarrow from our partner company HealthWork International, has been a passion of ours. Much of our passion derives from our falling in love with the people, the river and the landscape of the trial town of Bourke, to which we have travelled and stayed many times over the last two years.

Late in July, HCA travelled to Bourke for a follow-up workshop to help reboot the community initiative after COVID threatened to derail the community’s great advances. These advances included an impressive two-day Wellness Connect and Mental Health Summit in 2021, organised by Maranguka but co-designed and facilitated by HCA’s Lee Ridoutt and Susan Nancarrow, and attended by over 80 people from the community. A report on the Summit is provided in Maranguka’s Newsletter. The Summit also produced a sophisticated Strategic Mental Health Plan for Bourke to follow in the future.
While in Bourke to conduct the recent workshop, HCA’s Lee Ridoutt spoke to local radio station 2 WEB Outback Radio. Check out the interview Lee participated in here, where he details many of the workforce issues facing rural communities in dealing with mental health support needs. For more information on our research contact us.

See related blogs: Solutions for Small Rural Towns, Rural Workforce Solution