Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) delivered more than 150 primary health care service contracts across the region, valued at more than $63.7 million, as outlined in the recent 2022-23 Annual Report.

Other significant milestones have also been highlighted, including more than 4,000 engagements with primary health providers and notable advancements in mental health services.

Board Chair Terry Mehan said NQPHN was committed to strategically advancing health care access and outcomes for North Queenslanders.

“Our focus is to commission primary health care services that cater to the unique health needs of our region, ensuring quality healthcare reaches every corner of North Queensland,” Mr Mehan said.

“Looking back on the past year, we're delighted with the positive impacts our team have achieved within our priority areas of First Nations Health, Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drugs, GPs and Other Primary Care Professionals, Population Health, and Systems Integration.”

NQPHN Executive Director Health System Integration and Innovation Karin Barron said during the 2022-23 financial year NQPHN continued to take a leading role in engaging and supporting primary care providers through various capability and capacity-building activities. 

“Our teams were involved in more than 1,700 occasions of urban practice engagement and support, and 830 occasions of rural practice engagement and support,” Mrs Barron said.

“We also worked with more than 2,000 participants in our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program, which provides clinicians and their teams with access to local training to build health workforce capability.

Mental health has been a major priority for NQPHN as several significant initiatives got under way with codesign and planning.

“Mental health is one of the biggest health issues facing Australians right now,” Mrs Barron said.

“In the past year, NQPHN embarked on a journey to develop a new stepped care model aimed at improving mental health support for North Queenslanders facing challenges.

“This collaborative effort involved extensive input from GPs, health professionals, individuals with lived experience, and community members. We held more than 16 codesign workshops and 40 individual meetings, resulting in more than 500 engagements with people.”

Joint funding by the Australian and Queensland Governments for a Head to Health centre in Cairns was another significant step forward for mental health care in the region.

NQPHN worked hard to deliver on the Federal Government’s announcement of two new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) in North Queensland to launch in Cairns and Townsville.

Meanwhile, an ambitious 12-month program to dramatically improve access to culturally safe health assessments and coordinated care for First Nations people was also a highlight of 2022-23 financial year. 

With 13.75 per cent of the identified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population of northern Queensland having a billed 715 Health Assessment in a 12-month period, the First Nations Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) program was developed to improve access. 

“The program attracted 75 participating health services, with more than 545 face-to-face and virtual education event participants,” Mrs Barron said.

Additional achievements and milestones are included in the NQPHN 2022-23 Annual Report, as well as good news stories that highlight the positive impact NQPHN’s funded health services are making on the community.

“Our mission to provide the right care, at the right place, at the right time for North Queensland communities has been the driving force behind our efforts this past year,” Mrs Barron said.

“We're proud to showcase some of the outcomes of the collective dedication of our team, partners, providers, and health professionals to help address the health needs in our region.”

NQPHN’s 2022-23 Annual Report can be viewed at annualreport.nqphn.com.au

Unlike your typical podiatrist in the community who will treat a broad range of foot related concerns from sporting injuries to general nail care, the High Risk Foot Podiatrists are exclusively dedicated to caring for acute foot complications such as foot ulcers and acute Charcot neuroarthropathy.

The service is a rapid access service with new referrals prioritised to be seen within two business days of receipt of referral and can see patients either in the outpatient allied health department at the Townsville University Hospital or at the Kirwan Health Campus. The team is committed to providing the best care for foot ulcers to avoid unnecessary hospitalisations and visits to the emergency department.

The service has access to a range of dressing options and offloading devices and has the ability to rapidly escalate patients through into specialist services such as the vascular department and endocrinology for more complex foot complications. The service has also been accredited as a Centre of Excellence by the National Association of Diabetes Centres for the interdisciplinary diabetes high risk foot service, so you can be assured the patient accessing the service will have the highest standard of care provided.

So, if you have a patient with a foot ulcer, don’t wait, refer them through to the High Risk Foot Podiatry Service for quality foot ulcer care.

For more information regarding eligibility criteria and referral pathways, visit:

Townsville Community Health Pathways: https://townsville.communityhealthpathways.org/LoginFiles

Townsville Hospital and Health Service Podiatry Service: www.townsville.health.qld.gov.au/services/services-a-z/podiatry

The objectives of the NQPHN Building Community COVID Vaccination and Awareness Program are to:

• protect those most vulnerable from COVID-19 and other vaccine preventable diseases
• empower community by increasing awareness and uptake of recommended COVID-19 vaccination in communities that are vulnerable to COVID-19 infection, due to low vaccination coverage rates
• build partnerships with local agencies and community groups to optimise individual and community uptake of vaccination.

Applicants may seek funding for up to $30,000 (excluding GST) – or earlier if funds are exhausted.

The timeframe for the delivery of activities to meet Program objectives is until 31 December 2023. 

Due to the short funding timeframes, all applications will be assessed upon receipt.

The results of a completed project have proposed an innovative model of GP-led primary health care services for residential aged care homes (RACH).

Funded by Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) and led by the Townsville Hospital and Health Service (HHS), the quality improvement project suggests a primary focus on three core streams of healthcare delivery involving a nurse practitioner service, a primary care company, and a contribution by each residential aged care home where the service is established.

Report co-lead Dr Toni Weller said the quality improvement project suggested there was a need for a sustainable GP-led primary healthcare model to be developed over the next 15 years.

‘‘We know a GP-led model that caters to some of our most vulnerable community members will deliver best practice care, while also aligning with recommendations implemented from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety,’’ Dr Weller said.

‘‘The proposed Residential Aged Care Solution (RACS) model is designed to build on and support existing local GP services, as well as develop complementary alternative service structures in the future.

‘‘It also seeks to further develop relationships that provide patient-centred timely access to co-ordinated GP-led care with flexible staffing models at our aged care centres.

‘‘The model also provided RACHs with structured nurse practitioner-led acute and review ward rounds, with the aim to prevent unnecessary transfer to Townsville University Hospital’s emergency department and reduce the deterioration of a patient’s condition through early in-home care from highly skilled nursing staff.’’

Dr Weller said improving how the RACH GP network functioned, while also future proofing the region through recruitment of young GPs to the RACH sector, was at the heart of the report’s findings.

“The model hopes to ensure job satisfaction, balanced working conditions, and fair financial remuneration for our GPs working in the RACH sector to allow people to concentrate on providing the high standard of compassionate care they all want to give,” Dr Weller said.

“By building stability and sustainability for our workforce we can ensure we are working together across the health system to deliver the best care for residents of RACHs.”

Based on the work of the team, Townsville HHS was provided with funding from Queensland Health to further develop nurse practitioner clinical services available to local RACH residents. The nurse practitioner service (NPS) component of this suggested model of care will provide the basis for this service.

"Our first steps will be to further codesign and finalise what this service will look like and how it will operate,’’ Dr Weller said.

‘‘A key of the model’s development will be working with residents, families, GPs, emergency care teams, RACHs, and other primary care providers before a trial is implemented.’’

Project team members include:

• Townsville HHS General Practice Liaison Officer Dr Toni Weller
• Townsville HHS Administration Officer Tahnee Pedersen
• Townsville HHS Frailty Intervention Team (FIT) members Dr Jane Dutson (Emergency), nurse practitioner candidates Bethany Roche and Helen Hatchard
• Local community GP with an interest in aged care Dr Chris Stelmaschuk.

The final report is available on the NQPHN website.

Pictured from left are Townsville Hospital and Health Service (HHS) nurse practitioner candidate Bethany Roche, Townsville University Hospital Frailty Intervention Team (FIT) team clinical lead Dr Jane Dutson, local community GP (with an interest in aged care) Dr Chris Stelmaschuk, Townsville HHS nurse practitioner candidate Helen Hatchard and Townsville HHS general practice liaison officer Dr Toni Weller.