S.TRUEMAN PhD THESIS 2016

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(Rajkumar & Hoolahan, 2004). As Rajkumar and Hoolahan (2004) stated, ‘in remote communities … registered nurses … are the first avenue for the provision of … services. Professions … who play a vital role in remote mental healthcare are: generalist and community nurses’ (p. 81). The disparity between major cities and remote areas is even greater in relation to psychiatrists (rates of 15.51 and 1.96 practitioners per 100 population respectively). Rates of follow-up care, shown in Table 2.15 below, are directly related to the data on hospital-based service provision and discharge, with and without specialist care. Information is provided by state and territory, with no data available for Victoria. The variations in discharge rates across the states and territories illustrate the point that the geographies and services within them are not uniform throughout the nation.