If you currently receive funding from NQPHN for one or more of your services, and are already listed on My Community Directory, your listing will automatically appear on the Commissioned Services Directory. If you have any concerns please email support@nqphn.com.au

Please double check that your service is listed on My Community Directory. If it is not listed, click here to register your service then email support@nqphn.com.au to advise that you have recently created a service listing.

If your contract has ended with NQPHN, your service will no longer appear on the NQPHN Commissioned Services Directory page, however, your listing will still be available on My Community Directory. 

All services providers who receive funding from NQPHN are now required to maintain their My Community Directory listing. Simply ensure that your details are up to date by regularly reviewing your listing. 

The ITC program aims to improve chronic disease outcomes for First Nations peoples by improving access to primary health care, including culturally appropriate mainstream services, and by providing care coordination and access to brokerage funds (Supplementary Services) for eligible patients.

In 2019, NQPHN commissioned KPMG to undertake a review and redesign of the ITC program. A report was published that described the results of the assessment, evaluation, and co-design options for future commissioning of the ITC program. It made 10 recommendations for changes to the program.

In 2022, all recommendations within the KPMG report were implemented. This means that 12 Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCHOs) are now delivering all service delivery aspects of the ITC program (with mainstream general practices), using a localised model for their community. Indigenous Allied Health Australia have been engaged to provide the cultural capacity building component of ITC across the NQPHN region.

The new ITC model aims to support the role of ACCHOs in providing care to their communities and broaden the reach of the program to communities across the region, including in rural locations.

Townsville Head to Health is a service that connects adults who are experiencing high levels of distress and seeking help with local mental health and wellbeing support services.

The service provides a welcoming, safe, and inclusive space, embracing a ‘no wrong door’ approach. It assists people to receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time for both their immediate needs and in establishing connections for ongoing support.

NQPHN is proud to be working with Neami National, the lead agency for the Townsville Head to Health service. In partnership with NQPHN and others, Neami National co-designed a local service model to ensure the service is accessible to the people of Townsville and is connected with other local services.

Neami National also provides the national Head to Health phone service in the North Queensland region.

Find out more and get in touch with Head to Health

• You can visit Townsville Head to Health at 32 Walker Street, Townsville, and contact the service on (07) 4766 8444.
• Townsville Head to Health is open seven days a week and provides extended hours to improve accessibility for the community.
• Visit the Townsville Head to Health website for more information.
• You can also call the national Head to Health phone service on 1800 595 212 from Monday to Friday.

The headspace centres in Mackay and Townsville form part of a national network of centres across Australia to provide access to early intervention services for young people with mental health concerns. 

The headspace model aims is to provide young people with accessible, appropriate, and effective low to moderate intensity services. Centres act as a one-stop shop for young people, providing access to youth-friendly health professionals in a safe, confidential, and youth-friendly environment. 

Centres also take a proactive role in promoting awareness and understanding of youth mental health issues in their community. 

Following a select tender, NQPHN awarded a contract to Stride to deliver the Townsville headspace centre, and to North West Remote Health to deliver the Mackay headspace centre, along with its satellites in Proserpine and Sarina. NQPHN is pleased to be working with these providers to deliver accessible services to young people. 

In 2023, NQPHN has prioritised the improvement of culturally safe care to First Nations young people.   

Read our media releases below:  

• New lead providers appointed for headspace Townsville and headspace Mackay 

• New lead provider starts to run headspace Mackay 

• Stride runs headspace Townsville as new lead provider 

The Greater Choice for At Home Palliative Care is a Commonwealth-funded pilot program that aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. Improve awareness and access to safe, quality palliative care at home.
2. Support end of life care systems and practices in the community.
3. Reduce unnecessary hospitalisation, enabling the right care, at the right time, in the right place.
4. Generate and use data to support continuous improvement of services across sectors.
5. Use available technologies to support flexible and responsive palliative care at home and afterhours.

Below are some highlights from the Northern Queensland Health Community Connectors Network workshops in 2023.

In 2023 NQPHN funded Palliative Care Queensland to deliver Connecting End-of-Life Care to roll out a series of events for general practitioners in primary care and Residential Aged Care Homes (RACHs) in the Townsville area.

Compassionate Communities are a core part of public health approaches to palliative care, end of life care, and bereavement. It is a whole-of-community approach to improving the end of life experience for people by mobilising local networks, groups, and services to be more conscious, aware, and equipped to offer support.

It is impossible to have hospices built in every suburb, so building Compassionate Communities works to mobilise the community to do their bit for the frail and elderly who live alone, for people with life limiting illnesses, and for people who are grieving.

We want these vulnerable groups to know they are not alone. They are part of our communities and we have the responsibility to support them.

In collaboration with The Groundswell Project Australia, NQPHN conducted a series of Health Community Connectors train-the-trainer workshops and trained more than 300 Health Community Connectors in the northern Queensland region. The train-the-trainer workshops provided education on Advance Care Planning, end of life care, palliative care resources, service mapping, localised end of life needs assessment, and codesign opportunities. To ensure ongoing system integration, specialist palliative care services were also present at the workshops.

Upcoming workshops:

• Health Community Connector workshops are planned in Hughenden and Clermont. To register, please complete this online form.

Registering for the Health Community Connectors train-the-trainer workshop will grant you automatic membership to the Northern Queensland Health Community Connectors Network.

For more information, please contact the NQPHN Older Persons Health and Palliative Care Team.

If you, a family member, or your patient has recently received the challenging diagnosis of a life-limiting illness, you are not alone. Navigating through this uncertain and difficult time can be overwhelming, but Palliative Care Queensland has collated the resources, information, and support needed.

Patient journeys developed by Palliative Care Queensland through funding from NQPHN can be found here.