Rural health

Primary Health Tasmania aims to improve health outcomes for people with chronic conditions living in rural areas.

To do this, we work with communities and service providers to get an idea of what services are needed and how they can best be accessed by the people who need them.

Our commissioned activity

We’ve funded four organisations to deliver primary healthcare services to people with chronic conditions across 21 rural local government areas.

The chronic conditions covered by these services are:

  • type 2 diabetes
  • dementia
  • heart disease
  • mental illness
  • respiratory disease
  • cancer
  • lung disease
  • musculoskeletal disorders.

Find out more about them by searching Our Services Portal.

Bushfire emergency support

A bushfire emergency can pose a number of health-related risks. Click here to read a quick overview of services and advice available from both the state and federal governments, as well as information about Primary Health Tasmania’s role during a local bushfire emergency.

Grandfather of nine Maurie Woods remembers the day his GP of more than 20 years looked him over and said: “We’ve got to get you tested.”

The 64-year-old had already noticed some symptoms of type 2 diabetes but “didn’t want to believe” he had the chronic condition.

But after getting on board with Diabetes Tasmania’s rural primary health program, Maurie says he’s gotten back on top of his health and feels better than ever.

“I think if your family supports you, your doctor supports you, the people down at the gym support you, and of course, your diabetes educator supports you, I think you’ve got it made,” he says.

“You’ve got to use the whole circle, and everybody in it.”

Read Maurie’s story here.

Other services available in rural Tasmania

While the key focus of Primary Health Tasmania’s dedicated rural health program is chronic conditions, we have also commissioned a range of other services available to people living in rural parts of the state.

These include services for:

Find out more about them by searching Our Services Portal.

Helpful links