The Rural Health Workstream is working towards improving health outcomes for the rural Canterbury population by enabling appropriate access to health care services in rural areas.

The Workstream is currently working to achieve equity of outcome across Canterbury by reviewing and planning the organisation and structure of rural health care services in context of the wider Canterbury health system.  This includes defining rural in the Canterbury context, promoting clinically and fiscally sustainable health services in rural areas, encouraging and recommending innovative solutions that support rural health services, and providing recommendations with a rural focus to other CCN Workstreams and Service Level Alliances.

Since its establishment in January 2012 the Rural Health Workstream has progressed a range of initiatives designed to support the objectives of a work programme with seven key areas, being workforce, IT coordination, IFHC and rural Hospitals, older persons health, nursing in the community, mental health and allied health.

Currently the Rural Health Workstream is focused on supporting the Rural Sustainability Project in developing fit for purpose visions of sustainable health services for rural areas. The Workstream is also supporting the Rural Funding Service Level Alliance to establish a local model for the allocation of rural subsidies funding across Canterbury.