Welcome to RHealth, a dynamic and innovative Primary Health Care Organisation.
RHealth as an organisation has grown and diversified significantly since establishment as a Division of General Practice in 1994. Through continuing to work with regional, rural and remote communities over time, RHealth has positioned itself as a provider of choice recognised for a focus on quality service delivery and sustainable outcomes.
RHealth places high value on partnership for the successful delivery of services across a vast geographic area. We are committed to the maintenance and expansion of partnerships at all levels as a critical factor for the delivery of services that are highly relevant to each community.
The goal for RHealth will always be to support the health and wellbeing of communities, with a strong emphasis on support for the Primary Health Care workforce serving regional, rural and remote areas.
This is what ‘Your Health, Our Health’ means to us, and we invite you to be involved on the journey.
Dr Ross Hetherington
RHealth is owned and supported by General Practitioners from across Southern Queensland.
RHealth is a Company Limited by Guarantee with deductible gift recipient status, and is governed by a Board of four Elected Directors and two appointed Directors. We currently employ 29 staff across six locations.
RHealth’s Vision is Influence through Excellence. Our Vision attainment requires positively influencing communities, partners, general practice, staff, and other stakeholders.
We Support the Health and Wellbeing of Communities. This is our Purpose statement, and we take every opportunity that is presented to us through working towards value for money in health service provision, sustained focus on rural health, workforce sustainability and growth and influencing policy makers.
The RHealth Your Health Our Health culture is based on the concept that meaningful and sustainable outcomes to improve the health and wellbeing of all Australian people can be achieved through improving the capacity and capability of organisations, communities and individuals to make a difference. Our formula for success is partnerships across the health sector with strong focus on general practice and primary health care with the patient at the centre.
The ability to assess and respond to need effectively at the local level is about having good engagement and knowledge, and being able to make better use of existing workforce and technology; (i.e. leverage solutions that are likely to have a high acceptance rate in the community). Having delivered programs and services since 1994 as a Primary Health Care organisation, we have a good understanding of how to engage in the local needs and operating context of the communities we have worked with, which are specifically regional, rural and remote communities.
Influence through excellence.
We support the Health and Wellbeing of Communities.
RHealth provides a range of services in fulfilment of its purpose to support the health and wellbeing of communities in regional, rural and remote areas, and to support Primary Health Care in those areas in the delivery of Better Outcomes through General Practice.
RHealth has a wealth of experience and capabilities in program/project management, contractual compliance, quality assurance and financial management. Through continuing to work with regional, rural and remote communities over time, RHealth has developed a reputation as a provider of choice recognised for a focus on quality service delivery and sustainable outcomes
RHealth has over 25 years of organisational experience in fund holding and service delivery. Some of the successful programs delivered by RHealth include:
The strategy of the RHealth Board is to actively pursue funding and resources to enable and improve services to Primary Health Care with focus on regional, rural, and remote locations in Australia. Our focus is on supporting the local primary health workforce to have a sustainable and a high quality working experience in the regions that they choose to live and work in. This strategy informs our preference for establishing a well-governed Service Contractor model instead of direct employment of clinicians for program funded services, that could be seen to be in competition with private practice.
One of the principles of clinical safety in our Clinical Services Manual is that ‘People from all cultural and linguistic backgrounds and their community ties are respected and their individual needs met through culturally appropriate intervention, management, and delivery of services.’ As an employer we require mandatory cultural competence training and provide updates and refreshers to all staff. We contractually pass these requirements to our contracted private providers.
RHealth places a strong emphasis Quality Assurance and a Culture of Continuous Improvement. In the delivery of Projects and Programs, RHealth has always strived to ensure that the best outcomes and benefits are received by funding agencies, stakeholders and participants.
