Professor Jane Bleasel had been working as Head of the Department of Rheumatology at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney when she first saw there was a need for specialist rheumatology services in Wagga Wagga.

A new resource developed by the National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (NAATSIHWP) is available for download which aims to improve access for Aboriginal Health Workers and Practitioners working in non-ACCHO settings, such as general practice.

The community of Quirindi, on the fertile Liverpool Plains of NSW, is celebrating the arrival of new doctors, following a successful recruitment drive supported by RDN Health through the Collaborative Care Program.

The Outreach community witnessed a significant retirement earlier in the year, as optometrist Tony Lord stepped away from the practice in which he has helped generations of central western NSW locals maintain the clarity of their eyesight so they could continue to appreciate the “vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended”, as Banjo Paterson once wrote in conveying something of the beauty of the region.

Senior Project Officer Jess Rae and Program Support Officer Tori Towney from the Western NSW Eye Health Partnership (WNSWEHP) recently hit the road to deliver a series of targeted education sessions on diabetic eye disease with staff from Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) across the region.

On the October long weekend, RDN staff took to the sidelines of the 2025 NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout (aka the “Koori Knockout”) as part of the Western NSW Eye Health Partnership (WNSWEHP) and its aim to increase access to eye health services and, ultimately, reduce the rate of avoidable vision loss in Aboriginal communities across Western NSW.

Last Monday 8 September, Rural Doctors Network (RDN) welcomed around 800 students, parents and teachers from more than 50 public, Catholic and independent high schools to the ICC, Darling Harbour, for RDN’s inaugural Rural Health Pathways Showcase.

A program on the Central Coast for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with a chronic condition is being praised as a “life-changer”.

RDN had an extraordinary opportunity to participate in a rural health knowledge exchange and site visits in British Columbia (BC), Canada recently, in an effort to foster further collaboration and enhance solidarity and knowledge exchange.