Planning a country escape these school holidays? 4 ways to avoid clogging up the emergency department.

Winter school holidays are either here or coming up, depending on where in Australia you live. Maybe you’re planning a rural escape.

Rural tourism is crucial for job growth and sustainability of small rural towns. However, for rural emergency departments, school holidays are often the busiest times.

No-one plans a trip to the emergency department on holidays. But if you need health care, there are often other ways of accessing it than turning up at a rural hospital.

Here’s why it’s so important to leave rural emergency departments for life-threatening illness or injuries, and some other options for seeking care.