The Real Mates Talk men’s campaign intends to prevent suicide attempts and deaths of men in our community and support them to connect with others and live well. 

Real Mates Talk aims to do this by:

• encouraging men in their community to ask “what’s up mate?”
• encouraging men (and women) to ask for help
• supporting them to have places to go to connect with others.

Research tells us that to support men we need to meet men where they are, build social connections between men, and help men help themselves. To do this, the Real Mates Talk Team needs help from men across the community. The Real Mates Talk Team will:

• work with a team of men who will act as Ambassadors across the Whitsunday, Isaac, and Mackay region. These men will act as role models for breaking down stigma, raising community awareness, and making sure men know what supports are available to them. They will also share information about how to ask for help and where to get it.
• conduct a survey to gather data about if/how people in our community access help for mental health and suicidal concerns
• develop and share resources about how to stay physically and mentally well, as well as how to respond to a crisis
• support Ambassadors to make presentations at community events and in workplaces, in partnership with other organisations
• support sporting clubs and other community groups to know how to identify and respond to concerns.

If you’re passionate about supporting your mates and want to join us in breaking down stigma in your community, you can:

• become a Real Mates Talk Ambassador – email Michelle at michelleborg@selectability.com.au for more information
• like and share posts on the Real Mates Talk Facebook page in your personal and work networks, particularly posts about the Ambassadors
• submit information any events in Whitsunday, Isaac, and Mackay that the Real Mates Talk Team could participate in
• invite a Real Mates Talk Ambassador to make a presentation at your workplace, sporting club, or community group
• share Real Mates Talk information (at realmatestalk.com.au and on the Facebook page) with colleagues, family, and friends about mental wellness, so you shatter stigma and bust myths
• do a Real Mates Talk day in your workplace, café, or business – t-shirts, caps, and resources are available so you can encourage men to connect and ask ‘What’s up mate?’. 

Real Mates Talk is an initiative of the Suicide Prevention Community Action Planning group, which is administered and delivered by selectability Limited on behalf of Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) and funded by the Australian Government Department of Health.

Mackay Hospital and Health Service has partnered with CQUniversity and Australian Training Works with support from Northern Queensland Primary Health Network to recruit Year 11 students to a school-based traineeship in 2021.

The program has been named Budyubari Bidyiri Kebi Stapal, which translates to Big Dream, Small Steps.

Chief Executive Jo Whitehead said the program would allow students to achieve healthcare qualifications while they were still at school.

Ms Whitehead said the health service was committed to employing more staff who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

About 2 per cent of the workforce currently identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

“We want to increase that to 5 per cent to be in line with the proportion of the wider health service community that identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander,” she said.

Ms Whitehead said having more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff was important to improve the health service’s cultural capability to support patients.

“We want to engage a workforce that reflects the community we serve. Investing in our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce will also support our Close the Gap initiatives.

“By providing a culturally supported and structured health career pathway we hope to grow a sustainable workforce as well as improve improving education outcomes for young people,” she said.

The name was chosen in consultation with Traditional Custodian Elders and local Torres Strait Island Elders.

Budyubari Bidyiri (Big Dream) in Yuwi language, Kebi (Small) from Eastern Torres Strait dialect and Stepal (Step) Western Torres Strait dialect.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Program Officer Bevan Little said the program would support students to transition from school to work or higher studies.

Mr Little said the health service and CQU would aim to visit 13 secondary schools in Mackay, Sarina, Mirani and Calen this term to promote the program for 2021.

Due to the close contact required between client and health worker at BreastScreen Queensland, screening services were suspended from late March to early May 2020.

Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN) is currently working with local general practices to help increase cancer screening rates through the delivery of a Continuous Quality Improvement Program. As part of this program, BreastScreen Mackay partnered with NQPHN to provide an evening educational session for general practitioners and practice staff, focusing on cancer prevention and the importance of screening, intervention, and management.

The 42 clinicians and practice staff who attended the event were privileged to hear from a Cancer Survivor who shared her story and spoke about her experience with BreastScreen Mackay.

BreastScreen Mackay General Practitioner Dr Jennifer Charnley and Clinical Director Wendela Schimmer provided information concerning screening clinical pathways, procedure methodologies and techniques used in the Queensland program, and differentiation between screening mammography and diagnostic mammography.

For more information about BreastScreen and their services, visit BreastScreen Queensland or email cssb@health.qld.gov.au

It is one of three locations in Queensland successful in the Commonwealth Government’s first round of funding for the new program, along with Brisbane South and Brisbane North.
 
The program aims to:

• provide care for people exhibiting severe symptoms of dementia who are unable to be effectively cared for by mainstream aged care services
• enable residential aged care providers to deliver care in a dedicated dementia-friendly environment
• provide intensive, specialised residential care with a focus on stabilising and reducing the person’s symptoms over time with the aim of enabling transition to a less intensive care setting.

Barbara Cunningham, who has been appointed as the Specialist Dementia Care Coordinator at Good Shepherd Lodge, said the new unit opened in July 2020.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Good Shepherd Lodge to be among the first aged care homes in Australia to establish this specialist capability in dementia care, with our residents and the wider community set to benefit from the advanced skills and knowledge of the staff in the unit,” Ms Cunningham said. 

“Whilst the Queensland services are based in Mackay and Brisbane, the Specialist Dementia Care Program is borderless. Any client or resident can be referred from any geographical area or any service and benefit from this specialised service.

"The objective is that residents would only reside in the unit for a short period of time until the specialist support and care they receive enables them to transition into a general aged care setting after that period.

"We know there is a growing need for specialist dementia care in Australia and that units like these will be important assets in our local community.”

Ms Cunningham said the unit would incorporate eight beds, plus an additional bed, to accommodate people who may need to be readmitted if their transition out is not successful.

Residents are admitted to the unit via a specialised referral pathway through Dementia Support Australia (DSA). 

For more information please contact Barbara Cunningham at Barbara.c@gslmky.org.au

How to Refer to Dementia Support Australia (DSA)

A person living with dementia, or a carer (care worker, health professional, or family carer) can seek support from DSA for their self or for a person living with dementia who is experiencing behaviours and psychological symptoms that impact their care or the way care is provided.

DSA can be contacted 24/7, 365 days a year:

• Phone: 1800 699 799
• Email: dsa@dementia.com.au
• Fax: 1800 921 223
• Online: dementia.com.au/contact/referral