A Peterborough local on the risks rural patients live with every day
Rural health care looks very different once you leave the city. Long drives, limited services and poor phone coverage mean country South Australians often spend entire days accessing basic care our city cousins take for granted. From Here to Healthcare was created to put those lived experiences front and centre.
Founded by Alex Thomas, the project grew from her father’s life, retired farmer Chris Thomas, who spent more than 30 years travelling long distances, living with multiple chronic health conditions. Eventually, the toll became too great. He chose to stop travelling for treatment and died at home, surrounded by the people and community he loved.
From Here to Healthcare aims to ensure rural patients are seen and heard, and to push for fairer, long-term healthcare solutions that take country lives into account.
One of the voices sharing what rural health care looks like on the ground is Peterborough local Chris Tyndall.
Why country towns attract families, and why rural health care pushes them back out
Across the road from Chris’s place, the paddock is full of kangaroos and emus. Horses graze nearby among the chatter of native birds. It’s country living at it’s best with the open space and affordability drawing more young families to towns like Peterborough, and Chris understands why.
“People love the country. Fresh air. And you’ve gotta go to where you can afford to go,” he says.
Chris moved to Peterborough to start a new life. Not long after, his daughter Mel Tyndall, a renowned jockey, passed away. In his words, “the Peterborough community were absolutely brilliant, they pulled me out of a dark place”.
When Chris arrived home from Darwin after Mel’s funeral, groceries were waiting on his doorstep with a note. “I know you won’t feel like shopping, so I got you some groceries”.
Chris lives here because he loves it. Here is home.
But while house prices might be kinder on the pocket, getting sick in the country comes at a cost many city Australians never have to think about.
“When you haven’t got a car, you don’t see a doctor”
Chris is a diabetic. He has survived two heart attacks and a quadruple bypass. He says houses sold to young families in Peterborough often end up back on the market once reality sets in.
“The closest GP is a 30-minute drive away. And even then, there’s a six week wait,” he says.
“If you haven’t got a car, you can’t get there. You don’t see a doctor. Simple as that.”
When Influenza A hit him hard earlier this year, Chris was staying with family in Adelaide. Even there, he waited two and a half hours for an ambulance.
“Because I couldn’t breathe properly, my ambulance got the jump on the other ‘five or six’ waiting in line,” he says.
“This was in Adelaide. If I wasn’t in Adelaide, I’d be a mess.”
Care without doctors, and the limits of goodwill
Back home, the gaps are wider. Chris has been admitted to Peterborough Hospital twice, once for a pulled bladder and once for a back injury.
“I didn’t see a doctor either time,” he says. “They’re great here, the nurses, but you still need a doctor. I’m grateful when I can see a doctor.”
He’s is quick to credit the nursing staff..
“I’ve been in a lot of hospitals and Peterborough is the best one by a long way. The nurses, they’re brilliant. The nurses got me fixed up. They treat me like I’m a friend.”
Chris has also been referred to South Australia’s Patient Assistance Transport Scheme, known as PATS, which is meant to help rural patients recover travel costs. He says he has “no idea how to do it”, another hurdle for people already dealing with long trips and complex health needs.
Ambulances, distance and the danger of delay
Access to emergency services adds further risk.
“Last time I had an ambulance it had to come from Pirie – that’s an hour and a half away,” Chris said. “A lot of rural areas don’t have doctors, and a lot of people don’t have cars. If you don’t have a car, you’re in trouble.”
When a call for help goes nowhere
For Chris, distance is only part of the danger. Connectivity nearly cost him his life.
“One time we rang 000 and there was no signal. No ring tone. I have two phones, neither one worked. Optus are still investigating.”
From Here to Healthcare, putting rural health care front and centre
Alex Thomas says stories like Chris’s show how often rural people are forced to navigate systems never designed for them.
“What families like the Tyndalls face every day shows just how hard it is to access care when the system wasn’t designed with rural lives in mind.”
In the lead-up to the State Election, From Here to Healthcare will continue sharing human stories about cost, travel and separation.
“Our goal is simple, we want rural patients to be seen and heard. Your postcode should not determine your standard of care.”
What change looks like on the ground
If Chris could change one thing, he would start with the basics.
“Bring in more doctors. More nurses. More basic equipment, like an ultrasound machine. Transport, so people who don’t drive can get to a doctor,” he says.
For Chris, the outcome is clear.
“The impact of not having these services is that a lot of people are going to die from it,” he says.
“You still need medical care, regardless of where you live.”
Click here to find out more about From Here to Healthcare
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