Programs pioneered in rural and remote WA shine on national stage

Innovative advancements in rural and remote healthcare spearheaded by WA Country Health Service (WACHS) and partner agencies have recently been showcased on a national stage.

Medical Director Command Centre Dr Justin Yeung and co-director of the WA Rural Physician Training Pathway Dr Lloyd Nash put WACHS’ recent innovations and achievements in the national spotlight, presenting at the 2026 National Rural Health Conference (NRHC) in Adelaide earlier this month.

Dr Yeung presented two papers, the first focusing on the scaling of ‘Hospital in the Home’ in rural Western Australia.

“In 2025 we initiated a whole of state expansion to the program to allow us to support more communities across rural and remote WA,” Dr Yeung said.

“We deliver care across more than 2.5 million square kilometres which means rural implementation requires flexibility and adaptability to meet the needs of a diverse population.”

The presentation highlighted how the expansion of referral pathways, supported by coordinated governance and shared learning has enabled progressive growth and capability for the program.

“What we are seeing suggests rural health systems can scale home based care rapidly when they leverage networked models,” Dr Yeung said.

He also presented on WA Country Health Service’s work in delivering virtual emergency responses across WA through the 24/7 Command Centre.

“Within the Command Centre we have two complementary models which support high-acuity care, Virtual Medical Emergency Response (VMER) and High Acuity Low Occurrence (HALO) processes.”

VMER enables rapid activation of a virtual emergency response for deteriorating patients in sites without an on-site doctor.

HALO processes address rare, high-risk clinical events that require rapid coordination, shared mental models, and additional expertise.

“Together, these models extend the capability of rural sites, enabling delivery of critical care interventions that would otherwise be limited by geography.”

Also attending the conference, Dr Lloyd Nash presented an update on the success of the WA Rural Physician Training Pathway program.

A collaboration between WA Country Health Service and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), the Pathway enables early career doctors to undertake up to two years of Basic Physician Training at accredited WACHS sites.

“The Pathway is about growing specialist care in the rural communities, by growing training opportunities for doctors who don’t want to leave the communities they’re working in,” Dr Nash said.

“Since its launch in early 2025, we’ve seen an increase in the number of rural adult physician training positions and greater access to medical subspeciality training terms.”

The Pathway has contributed to improved supervisor and trainee wellbeing through coordinating employment, training and centralised support for trainees and supervisors throughout the network.

“By facilitating specialist training opportunities for regional doctors within their communities, we’re able to strengthen our workforce and enhance the continuity of care for regional, rural and remote communities.”