In 1984 a group of rural and remote health professionals came together to form CARPA, a
platform for multidisciplinary activity to support primary health care in remote and First
Nations communities. As a small but respected grassroots organisation, we provide an
avenue for rural and remote health professionals to make their voices heard. Today, our
vision is still to be a driving force for improvements in primary health care in remote
Australia.
For their work towards this goal, I’d like to thank our management committee members: Lyn
Byers (Secretary), Chris Perry (Treasurer), John Wright (Vice Chair), and Tony Lane.
This year, our key efforts have been the joint governance of the Remote Primary Health
Care Manuals (RPHCM), exploring ways to improve preparation and support for managers in
remote health, and partnering with the Remote Area Health Corps (RAHC) for the
development of an RPHCM orientation module.
RPHCM governance:
The CARPA Standard Treatment Manual was first developed in Central Australia in the
1990s. Given the broad range of knowledge required to provide good quality healthcare in
isolated settings, remote health professionals came together to develop a book of
treatment protocols to improve the standard of healthcare in remote Aboriginal
communities.
Since then, CARPA has partnered with Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, CRANAplus,
and Flinders University to form the jointly governed Remote Primary Health Care Manuals
suite. As well as the CARPA standard treatment manual, the suite includes the Women’s
Business Manual, Clinical Procedures Manual, and Medicines Book.
The current edition of the manuals was released for remote health services last year. This
year, we have expanded distribution to enable individuals to purchase their own copies at
cost. Work has not yet started on the next edition, due to a delay in obtaining funding. In
the meantime, the dedicated volunteers on the Editorial Committee have been reviewing
feedback on the current edition to identify necessary corrections or updates from changes
in practice. Their efforts will help ensure the current edition continues to meet the needs of
remote health practitioners during the delay between editions.
We are also continuing to advocate for enhancing the clinical governance of the manuals
and a formal review process.
Advocating for good management in remote health:
A key advocacy area for CARPA has been around improving preparation and support for
managers in remote health. Poor management has a significant impact on staff wellbeing
and retention. Managers in remote health are often dropped into the role without training
or support as the ‘last one standing’.
After exploring different strategies for how we might offer support in this area, CARPA is
developing a scholarship to assist remote health practitioners in undertaking training in
leadership and management.
There is still much work to be done in this space, and CARPA will continue to advocate for
improved preparation and support for remote health managers in the coming year.
Manuals orientation RAHC module:
Following the release of the current edition, we partnered with RAHC in the development of
a free online orientation module for the manuals. It went live this year and is available in the
RAHC eLearning platform.
Many thanks for your continued support over the past year.
Warm regards,
Laura Wright
CARPA Chair