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Reflecting on our trip to Western Queensland
Dr John Douyere, Coral Fuata and Janelle McCarron headed west to deliver GP services to rural health practitioners. They share their adventures.
Celebrating bringing GP services to Western Queensland
It’s been a whirlwind year at Rural Doctors Foundation as we rolled out the first clinics in our GPs4RuralDocs program – a GP service aimed specifically at rural doctors, nurses and allied health practitioners.
As we look to the future with the hope of expanding the service across Australia with the help of new sponsors and partners, we reflect on the exciting development of the program through 2024.
If you’re one of our valued supporters, you might have followed the launch of our first trip on social media. But for those of you who missed it, we invite you to read as we share Dr John Douyere’s journey from Brisbane to outback Queensland to care for those who care for their communities.
First stop: Quilpie
An early morning charter flight from Brisbane to Quilpie marked the first stage of our much-anticipated GPs4RuralDocs clinic. It was a warm welcome from the locals in beautiful Quilpie, which is home to just over 500 people. John had the pleasure of meeting some dedicated health practitioners at the hospital and witnessed first-hand the need for GP services for its local rural health workforce.
Our Program Manager, Coral Fuata, who accompanied John on the trip, had this to say about the first day of clinics in Quilpie:
“It feels humbling to be here and see and feel the need for the service. These health practitioners give their all and it feels so good to be able to give to them what they give to others.”
Day two: Charleville
Waking up to beautiful Charleville on the second day of clinics was a pleasant reminder of why we do what we do.
As the largest town in Queensland’s south-west, Charleville has just over 3000 people and boasts stunning landscape and a vibrant history. Charleville also hosts a major airbase for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and is well known for its Cosmos Centre. Rural towns like this are an incredibly important part of Australian identity and spirit.
Based out of Acacia Country Practice, Dr John Douyere had a day filled with patient appointments (some travelling over an hour away just to receive his care) and media interviews, as news spread of the launch of this important service.
We took time to meet with Mayor Shaun Radnedge and CEO Bruce Scott, and Leanne Patton for a bite to eat!
Last stop: Cunnamulla
Last but not least was Cunnamulla, home to 1200 people and the old-world charm distinctive to the rural towns of south-west Queensland. The Cunnamulla Hospital hosted the GPs4RuralDocs clinics with 100% uptake in appointments, proving just how needed the service is.
We had some amazing feedback on the day. Judy, a health nurse in Cunnamulla, expressed the importance of the service and how much it will be valued.
Local encouragement and national support
Throughout the three-day trip, many locals and key community leaders met with the Rural Doctors Foundation team to celebrate the launch, including:
- Lisa Hamlyn, Quilpie Shire Council – Corporate and Community Manager
- Allyson Russell, Charleville Medical Practice – Practice Manager
- Jenna Nunn, Quilpie District Hospital – Director of Nursing
- Mayor Shaun Radnedge and CEO, Bruce Scott, Charleville Council
- Leanne Patton, Charleville Hospital, Director of Nursing
- Mayor, Suzette Beresford and CEO Cassandra White, Paroo Shire Council
- Tina Jackson, Director of Nursing, Cunnamulla Hospital
It was also heartening to see our story, and most importantly our cause, picked up by national and local media outlets throughout the country. ABC radio interviewed our very own Dr Michael Rice and Fran Avon, alongside treating GP, Dr John Douyere and Charleville Practice Host, Dr Katie Chang. You can listen to the radio segment here.
We’ve been equally overwhelmed with the encouraging response and feedback from other organisations in the rural health sector. The more voices that chorus our cause, the more impact we can have on rural doctors and the communities they serve.
Chris Mitchell, CEO at Health Workforce Queensland, had this to say about the program:
“I think the Foundation has picked a really good initiative in which to invest its philanthropic activities, I think it’s really important. This will add a great deal of value and increase the retention rates of the health professionals because they’re looking after themselves and in fact, they feel cared for because there’s a service particularly focused on their needs.”
Looking ahead to the expansion of our GP service for health practitioners
“After the successful launch we’ve been focusing on bringing the program to other rural towns with health workers that are in dire need of support,” says Fran Avon, CEO of Rural Doctors Foundation. We hope to replicate GPs4RuralDocs even further across Australia as we secure more funding – if you’d like to help us make this happen, check out our donations page where every little bit counts.
Stay tuned as we announce new clinics for GPs4RuralDocs and follow us on social media if you would like to stay up to date with our upcoming trips in rural and remote Australia.