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I have been listening to much of the debate via our local radio station ABC 639 and continually hear rural South Australia talk of the distances they will need to cover to access medical care under the new Government proposal. We already travel those distances and see the Government’s new Health Plan as a major leap backward for South Australia as a whole.

An example. I decide to have a baby. I live approximately 250km North of Port Augusta (I consider myself lucky as many live further away than me). I have decided to have my baby in Quorn (approx. 200kms away) as it is the closest Hospital to me that will deliver babies. The RFDS services Blinman so i can have my ante natal check ups there once a month – a 30 minute (one way) drive on an unsealed road in poor condition. I constantly hope that I do not get a flat tyre in my 4WD, especially with my other children on board! I have decided that as I approach my due date I would like to visit my Doctor in Quorn a little more regularly so we get to know each other. Doctor suggests that as I have gone into labour a little early on the other 2 occasions and my labours have been relatively quick (4 hours) that I should probably arrange to stay in Quorn at least 3 weeks prior to the birth of the baby. At this stage I have travelled numerous times to visit the Doctor (please take a moment to consider the price of fuel and that we are in the worst drought we can remember). Costs are adding up. There is a PATS form I can fill in to claim a rebate on some of my travel however the return is small and I quite often don’t bother with it. I now need to find somewhere to stay, some people have families they can stay with (I would also like to stress here how much of a burden and strain this is even on the closest family units!) however I have no relatives in Quorn so I need to pay for my accommodation, luckily one of the accommodation providers in town has been very kind to me and given me a discounted rate. Here I am in Quorn on my own with the other two children, my husband visiting on weekends – we are in the middle of the drought and cannot afford for him to be away from the Station for any extended periods. I am feeling really crappy and homesick, I am missing my husband, the kids are missing my husband and he is missing all of us! I pass my due date…waiting, waiting…everyone is walking on eggshells. My Mum has managed to get some time off to help me out. Poor Mum, she’s exhausted too! They decide to induce me, my husband gets down that morning and we have our beautiful baby that afternoon. As soon as we can we pack up and leave hospital and head home, most probably too early but we have been away long enough and can’t wait to get back to some kind of normality.

This is an example of what more Country South Australians will be facing. The example above is one of the best case scenarios we face, notice there were NO COMPLICATIONS…take a second to think about the what if’s and the unknown’s of pregnancy and giving birth!

I hope this little story has given some of you an insight into how we already tackle day to day health issues due to our remoteness and how under the new proposal many more South Australian’s will be in the same boat.

Don’t forget if you are a tourist travelling to our rural and outback areas this can happen to you! I urge you to sign the online petition.