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Edition 6 - July | August | September 2017
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A message from our CEO
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Welcome to the latest edition of North of 26˚. This issue reaches you following the success of the Compass Teaching and Learning Conference which Northern Territory PHN (NT PHN) delivered this past weekend in partnership with NTGPE. Further information regarding this conference will be detailed in the next edition of North of 26. In this edition, I'm pleased to share with you Northern Territory PHN’s (NT PHN) successes for the previous quarter.
NT PHN commissions primary health care services to ensure people in the Northern Territory receive the right care, in the right place at the right time. In July, we welcomed the Australian Government’s announcement of funding for a headspace service in Katherine. We’ve met with the Katherine community, and youth and mental health organisations and professionals to discuss a localised service. I anticipate there will continue to be great community and sector engagement on this project as our needs assessment has identified a clear need for youth mental health services in the Katherine region.
We recently commissioned extended methamphetamine, drug and alcohol treatment services in Darwin and Alice Springs. These services are being delivered by several providers to ensure treatment and rehabilitation services are suitable and available to the communities that need them most.
NT PHN’s support of the alcohol and other drugs sector has extended beyond the commissioning of these services to include workforce development and capacity building. We have partnered with the National Centre for Education and Training in Addiction (NCETA) to deliver a series of workshops in Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs to identify and respond to the sector’s workforce needs.
To support our broader NT health workforce development objectives, NT PHN recently welcomed six health discipline students from across Australia to Alice Springs as part of the CARAH Health LEADS program. Chosen for their potential as future rural and remote health leaders, the students experienced the unique realities of service delivery in the Territory. I hope to see them return to the Territory as they continue their studies and become qualified health professionals.
In partnership with Northern Territory General Practice Education (NTGPE), we have continued to deliver our Pop-Up PHN series. These events encourage engagement with and between health professionals and deliver professional development.
As part of our commitment to ensuring people in the Northern Territory enjoy their best health and well-being, NT PHN provides funding for an LGBTQI GP Specialist Health Service Program at Northside Health and we are currently undertaking needs assessment to identify service delivery gaps in the current provision of primary healthcare to services to the LGBTQI community. In this edition, we profile Dr Danielle Stewart of Northside Health and her approach to holistic health care.
I hope you enjoy this quarter’s edition of North of 26˚.
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Nicki Herriot |
CEO, Northern Territory PHN |
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Left to Right: Bernie Dwyer of Amity, Jill Smith of CAAPS, Sharon McIntyre of the Salvation Army, NT PHN CEO Nicki Herriot and Carole Taylor of DASA.
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Funding advances support services
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A funding boost to methamphetamine, drug and alcohol treatment services is helping NT PHN and its community partners provide more treatment and rehabilitation programs across the Territory.
NT PHN has funded expanded services in the Darwin regiona through commissioning the Salvation Army and the the Council for Aboriginal Alcohol Program Services (CAAPS) in partnership with Amity Community Services.
NT PHN Alcohol and Other Drugs Health Stream Lead, Peter Burnheim, said the additional funding helps Territory services meet the needs of clients suffering from dependence to methamphetamine, alcohol and other drugs.
“This announcement builds on the launch of similar services in Alice Springs by the Drug and Alcohol Services Australia (DASA) in June,” Peter said.
NT PHN currently funds a broad range of alcohol and other drug treatment services, workforce support projects and social and emotional wellbeing services.
“We’ve also funded the NCETA to run training through DASA in Alice Springs for frontline workers to improve their capacity to manage clients suffering from methamphetamine use/addiction”.
Alcohol and Other Drugs Workforce Development Consultation
NT PHN is engaging with industry to establish the best pathways for workforce development in the local Alcohol and other Drugs (AOD) sector. NT PHN has partnered with NCETA to deliver a series of consultative workshops in Darwin, Katherine and Alice Springs.
Attended by AOD sector employees, feedback from the workshops is being used to understand the status, needs and preferences of the AOD workforce. An online consultation is also being carried out to further the reach and scope of consultation.
“The main outcome of the consultation will be a comprehensive report about the current state of workforce development in the AOD sector,” Peter said. “This report will guide our forward planning for investment in the sector”.
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Minister Nigel Scullion and NT PHN CEO Nicki Herriot announce a headspace service for Katherine.
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Katherine headspace update
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Health professionals and identities from the Katherine region gathered to support a funding announcement that will improve mental health services for 12 to 25 year olds in Katherine and surrounding communities.
The Katherine headspace initiative is responding to a community-wide need for better youth mental health support. The headspace funding announcement was made by Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Senator for the Northern Territory, Nigel Scullion, in June. It is coupled with the appointment of NT PHN’s new Youth Mental Health Stream Lead, Clancy Wright, who is focused on developing this service for Katherine.
Clancy is leading a far-reaching community consultation process that will allow all stakeholders and service providers to contribute their knowledge, thoughts, concerns and ideas to the development and operation of the service.
Following the funding announcement, staff from NT PHN accompanied by employees from headspace National Office visited Katherine to deliver two information sessions – for service providers and the general community – providing an overview of headspace services. We also delivered a session for potential providers. We later returned to deliver a youth engagement session at St Joseph's College for senior students to discuss the issues affecting them and their ideas for the headspace service.
NT PHN will soon release an Expression of Interest for Lead Agencies to nominate to run the new headspace service, which is due to open in July 2018.
NT PHN Alcohol and Other Drugs Health Stream Lead, Peter Burnheim, said while the Katherine headspace is a positive boost for youth mental health services, it’s not a ‘silver bullet’ solution.
“Through our stake holder and community engagement activities we recognise that there are significant mental health needs for the region that won’t fit into the remit of the headspace service. We will continue to work towards addressing these needs in collaboration with NT Health and the various other health providers in the region.”
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Health students visit Alice Springs schools as part of the CARAH Health LEADS program
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Early engagement key to future health delivery
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Central Australian Remote Aboriginal Health (CARAH) Health LEADS is an innovative program developing the leadership skills of our emerging health professionals in rural and remote locations.
Six health discipline students from across Australia met in Alice Springs for a week in June to complete hands-on experience by learning about issues impacting health service delivery, inter-cultural communication, and to further their personal and professional development.
The Health LEADS project supports the mantra ‘better leadership equals healthier communities’ and promotes knowledge sharing between experienced and emerging health professionals.
NT PHN Career Pathway Support Coordinator, Diana Carli-Seebohm, said the program’s focus on early engagement and participation in rural health was generating tangible benefits and recruitment opportunities for health graduates.
“Programs like CARAH do lead to recruitment in rural health services and that’s really important because it improves health outcomes for all Territorians,” Diana said.
“We stay in touch with the participants and they let us know when they’re coming back…it’s about making and maintaining connections with future graduates.”
During the week in Alice Springs, students joined an introductory cultural context workshop run by the Centre for Remote Health, visited Western Desert Dialysis Purple House, toured Alice Springs hospital, visited the Royal Flying Doctor’s hangar, walked up Mt Gillen, participated in clinical ‘speed dates’, and attended the two-day Health LEADS workshop run by Dr Elizabeth Shannon from the University of Tasmania.
Several local health professionals, including HESTA Nurse of the Year winner and CEO of Western Desert Dialysis, Sarah Brown, shared their stories and experiences with students.
Two in-school sessions were also part of the CARAH program. The school visits aimed to inspire students to reach for a career in health, while giving them hands-on experience with equipment and contact to health professionals.
Master of Audiology student, Sally Wallz, said “the best parts of the trip were when opportunities for culture and language barriers to be bridged were greatest,” she said. “These included learning about Arrernte culture during the cultural context workshop and running a health skills workshop for kids at Santa Teresa School.”
“Although these were fantastic learning encounters for soon-to-be health professionals, they also made real the stark disparity in health services between metro and rural/remote areas and the immense challenge of closing the gap in health equality across Australia.”
Sally said a great outcome of her clinical ‘speed date’ was securing the option to return to Alice Springs and complete a five-week placement with NT Hearing Services in her final year.
“NT PHN’s staff were some of the loveliest people I’ve met, encouraging and supporting us from the minute we arrived, to ensure we got the most from the program.”
Another of this year’s students, Shirley Jayasekara, enjoyed meeting with ‘local community organisations excelling in cultural care and visiting Ltyentye Apurte school students.
“I also valued the opportunity to chat with leaders in remote health. It solidified my desire to pursue rural and remote training and I am returning to Alice Springs for my internship next year,” Shirley said.
NT PHN runs other programs for students with a rural focus, including the NT Rural High School Visit Program.
For more information, contact Diana Carli-Seebohm on 08 8950 4814.
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Katherine Pop-Up PHN attendees
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Pop-Up PHNs strengthen links with regional health professionals
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Regional engagement and connectivity with local health care professionals has been boosted with another round of Pop-Up PHNs.
Building on the success of Pop-Up events in Alice Springs, Katherine, Nhulunbuy and Darwin, NT PHN is delivering a second series of the popular training and networking events.
NT PHN Workforce Program Manager, Mark DiFrancesco said following the first round of Pop-Up PHNs, his team was now aiming to attract a broader range of health care professionals at regional events to facilitate and support local regional networking and collaboration.
“We’ve had very positive and encouraging feedback from those who attended the initial Pop-Up PHN networking and CDP program,” Mark said. “Going forward, we’ll focus on reaching the groups that were underrepresented and work on how to engage better with these health professionals.”
Pop-Up PHNs offer interactive education sessions with local health professionals that explores the national reform agenda and implications for local health care delivery.
“The Program provides opportunities for our staff to engage with local providers - GPs, nurses and allied health professionals - to improve coordinated approaches to service delivery across the NT,” Mark said, adding “NT PHN is currently recruiting Regional Coordinators that will further strengthen regional stakeholder engagement and coordination of regional programs”.
“It’s about strengthening NT PHN’s ability to build local partnerships and direct resources towards an integrated, high quality primary health care system in the regions.”
The Pop-Up PHN program and Compass Teaching and Learning Conference are two of many events NT PHN organises and promotes throughout the year. For more information contact NT PHN on 8982 1000 or events@ntphn.org.au
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Dr Danielle Stewart of Northside Health
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Dani’s health revolution
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There’s no doubt Darwin is fortunate to count Danielle Stewart as one of our GPs.
Her passion for saving lives, challenging the status quo and supporting those who need it most, has motivated Dr Stewart to push professional boundaries and challenge traditional thinking.
Over the past 20 years, mostly spent in Darwin, Danielle has practiced and advocated a holistic medical philosophy, where her care and treatments consider the whole patient; body, mind, spirit, and emotions.
“I was a very philosophical and political teenager and medical student,” Danielle said. “I was really interested in nutrition, meditation and a balanced view of health and knew I wouldn’t settle happily into a career in mainstream medicine.”
At the age of 17, Danielle spent a year in France as an exchange student, and it was this life-changing experience that exposed her to the work of international medical humanitarian group, Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
“I was already interested in medicine but it was at this point it became my dream to work overseas with MSF and provide aid to refugees,” Danielle said.
“So a few years later, I joined MSF and worked in Sierra Leone and Burma, helping local people disadvantaged by civil war. MSF’s work aligned with my own philosophical and moral beliefs and it was a really important time in my life.”
When Danielle retuned to Darwin, she continued her focus on Indigenous health and welfare, working in remote communities and steadily infusing her integrative and functional health philosophies into local care systems.
Responding to a growing need for more holistic health care, two years ago Danielle opened Northside Health; Darwin’s first functional and integrative medical practice. From day one, the team has been overwhelmed by demand for the practice’s unique approach to health and well-being.
“The best moments for me are when I’ve helped a kid get well again,” she said. “It makes my day knowing we’ve helped kids with behavioural and mood issues become happy and healthy again.”
Another passion for Danielle is supporting the local lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or intersex (LGBTI) community. Discussing Northside Health’s new monthly LGBTI clinics, Danielle said ‘it’s very rewarding to see people so in need and at such risk get the help they need and have access to expert care.’
“With our LGBTI clinics, we’ll have patients in the waiting room very nervous and stressed before their appointments. After accessing our expert services these patients walk out happier and ‘lighter’ - the relief is incredible. These are the moments we love as a team because we know we’re making a genuine difference,” she said.
This year, Danielle and her family made a conscious decision to escape the city lights, take more breaks and holiday at home.
“We’ve taken some really great short breaks, seen a lot more of the Territory and balanced our lives a bit better……. it’s been a big year but an amazing one,” she said.
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Health Service District Maps
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NT PHN, with assistance from the NT Department of Health, have recently created two map resources showing the Territory's regions and health landscape to inform ongoing planning.
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NT PHN Strategic Plan
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View the NT PHN 2015–18 Strategic Plan which demonstrates our strategic intent and direction.
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Copyright © 2016 Northern Territory PHN. All rights reserved.
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Northern Territory PHN provides this publication as a free information service to subscribers and does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of third party information or for advice regarding external activities.
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Health Network Northern Territory Ltd operating as Northern Territory PHN
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Darwin
23 Albatross Street, 0800
Darwin PO Box 2562, 0801
t: 08 8982 1000
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Alice Springs
Remote Health Precinct, 5 Skinner Street, 0870
Alice Springs PO Box 1195, 0870
t: 08 8950 4800
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ABN 17 158 970 480
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