Focusing on improving health outcomes for First Nations communities in the North West and implementing the Health Equity Strategy will be among the key priorities for the North West Hospital and Health Service (HHS) over the next 12 months.

Health Service Chief Executive Sean Birgan said the health service had ended the 2022-2023 financial year with some excellent outcomes. 

“While the past year has challenged the health service to be responsive and innovative to the changing environment of the healthcare needs across rural and remote communities, we have seen new partnerships formed and an expansion of services,” Mr. Birgan said.

“We have expanded renal dialysis services in the North West, with the establishment of a permanent two-chair dialysis unit in Cloncurry and temporary two-chair dialysis units in Doomadgee and Mornington Island.

“The expansion of renal dialysis services in these communities has enabled four Doomadgee residents and four Mornington Island residents to return to community for dialysis.

“We have also strengthened efforts to advance the health outcomes of First Nations peoples, with the launch of the North West Health Equity Strategy 2022-2025 in October 2022.”

Mr Birgan said the health service was committed to working with healthcare partners and key stakeholders to implement the Strategy and support the Ending Rheumatic Heart Disease Queensland First Nations Strategy 2021-2024.

“We have recruited an additional seven positions to the RHD workforce to support Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) and RHD patients through primary and community health.

“There are plans for remote community laundries and healthy skin programs to tackle the environmental factors that increase the risk of Streptococcal A infection as another defence to stop RHD, and other diseases.

“We acknowledge that there is much work to be done to ensure health equity in our First Nations communities and we are committed to working collaboratively with communities and health partners to effectively end Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) in the North West by 2031.”

Mr Birgan said an innovative partnership with Metro South HHS since February 2023 has ensured a continuous remote surgical service in the region.

“We have been welcoming surgeons to work in Mount Isa on a rotational basis, which has proven to be supportive of their career progression and beneficial to our communities.”

Mr Birgan said it was the dedication of North West HHS staff that allows the health service to deliver high-quality healthcare across the region.

“Our staff have continued to show unwavering resilience and commitment throughout the last financial year.”

He said staff numbers had increased to help deliver an expanded range of health services.

“As at 30 June 2023, we had 818.53 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) staff, an increase of 6.51 per cent on the previous financial year.”

Looking forward, there are exciting capital projects in the works as part of the Queensland Government’s Building Rural and Remote Health Program.

“The Normanton Hospital, Camooweal Primary Health Clinic and Doomadgee Hospital will be upgraded to improve infrastructure critical to the delivery of health services in our region,” Mr Birgan said.

“Staff accommodation in Camooweal, Dajarra and Mount Isa will also be enhanced, providing a comfortable living environment for our valued staff who often relocate to work across our communities.”

Some other highlights of the 2022-2023 annual report include:

• Introduced a new General Practitioner (GP) Liaison Officer role to facilitate and enhance the relationship between North West HHS and the wider healthcare community, and improve the patient journey through our health systems.
• Developed the North West Hospital and Health Service Employee Wellbeing Framework 2023-2026 to support and improve the health and wellbeing of our staff, which is vital to the delivery of high-quality healthcare.
• Collated, analysed and integrated feedback from community consultation into the Local Area Needs Assessments (LANA), summarising our health and service needs which was published in November 2022.
• Planning for health services in our communities continued with the development of the Clinical Services Plan 2022-2037 published in June 2023, informing how we deliver services to meet the needs of the communities we serve.
• Implemented a hybrid virtual reality training model for nursing and medical staff, allowing the delivery of education to remote facilities without the need to travel.

“The year has not been without its challenges, but we are committed to continuing to deliver and improve high-quality services to our communities during the coming year,” Mr Birgan said.

The North West HHS annual report is available online: https://www.northwest.health.qld.gov.au/about-us/corporate-documents-and-publications/