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Prior to the formation of the WA Country Health Service, the State's country health system consisted of 42 separate health services acting as independent statutory authorities, controlled by local Boards of management. On July 1st 2002, country health services were restructured to form the WA Country Health Service (WACHS) and South West Area Health Service (SWAHS).
However, in December 2005 the Minister for Health announced the merger of SWAHS into WACHS to form a single, unified and strengthened country health system with accountability and governance for seven health regions across rural WA, being the:
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Kimberley
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Pilbara Gascoyne;
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Midwest Murchsion;
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Wheatbelt;
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Goldfields South East;
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South West; and
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Great Southern
WACHS delivers acute and primary health services to regional WA, operating within a Regional Network Model and providing an integrated service delivery system that has earned broad community acceptance. The model includes Regional Resource Centres, Integrated District Health Services, and flexible services with a primary health care focus for small towns and isolated communities. Services are flexibly managed and adapted to address local need and circumstance with input from a wide range of community representatives and key stakeholders.
The breadth and scope of the WACHS organisation is enormous, with services being planned and delivered for a particularly diverse and sprawling population with widely varying health needs. A high transient population of tourists also exists in many areas and has to be taken into account.
The WACHS organisation currently employs around 5,662 FTE staff (including 2,310 nurses and 180 salaried doctors), and contracts 150 Visiting Medical Officers across 70 hospitals and a large number of smaller health services and nursing posts (eg: aged care, health centres, child, community, dental, alcohol & drug, mental and public health facilities). Each year on average, WACHS deals with 325,000 emergency department visits (excluding other forms of emergency responses characteristic of rural health), 96,000 hospital discharges, and 380,000 inpatient bed days across the State.
WACHS is committed to open consultation and collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, which has been well demonstrated through the establishment of District Health Advisory Councils (DHAC) throughout the regions to support community and consumer participation, as well as foster and strengthen partnerships that lead to better health services for all through the DHAC Network.
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