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Edition 5 - April | May | June 2017
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A message from our CEO
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The first half of this year has been an exciting time for Northern Territory PHN (NT PHN) as we strengthen our commissioning focus to support needs-based health programs and initiatives. Recent announcements from the Australian Government indicate a busy and equally rewarding second half of 2017 that will see NT PHN supporting implementation of the Health Care Homes stage one in the Northern Territory (NT).
We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of our plans for the year through quarterly issues of North of 26˚. It seems the beauty of the NT is the theme of this edition with the first article featuring psychologist, Michelle Grant, who shares her story of returning to her roots in Gove and her love of the remote and idyllic lifestyle.
From Zambia to Australia, NT PHN funded Refugee Health Coordinator, Irene Simonda, explains the importance of providing coordinated, comprehensive health services to refugees and draws on her own experience of settling in Darwin.
Again, the NT set the scene for six students from interstate who embarked on a week-long adventure for the annual Go Rural program to gain knowledge and experience as a health professional.
You can read about NT PHN's Partners in Recovery program that has been helping to support the rollout of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) which is progressing in the Barkly and East Arnhem regions. Principal Program Officer, Liberty Green, discusses the NDIS's approach for an effective implementation that acknowledges the challenges of operating in the Territory.
We were honoured to receive a visit at our Darwin office from Minister for Aged Care and Indigenous Health, The Honourable Ken Wyatt AM PM. Minister Wyatt arrived in Darwin to lead discussions with local stakeholders for the National Suicide Prevention Trial Roundtable.
On behalf of NT PHN, I would like to congratulate Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation on their milestone 25th anniversary. This tremendous event was marked by celebrations held in Galiwin’ku and attended by the Chair of our Board, Dr Andrew Bell. The NT PHN-funded DVD, Pathways in Mental Health, was launched during the occasion, offering health professionals insight into the significance of culturally appropriate mental health care used for Yolngu people.
I hope you enjoy this quarter’s issue of North of 26˚.
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Nicki Herriot |
CEO, Northern Territory PHN |
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Psychologist, Michelle Grant, with her family
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Home is where the heart is
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A childhood filled with beautiful landscapes and simple pleasures is what lured psychologist Michelle Grant back to her hometown of Gove nine months ago.
Michelle could never have imagined the journey she would embark on when she left Gove in search of a career, which would bring her back home again 15 years later.
The year was 2002 and Michelle had just graduated from Nhulunbuy High School. James Cook University in Townsville was calling, so she packed her bags and left the only home she’d known for further studies.
“I wanted to become a doctor so enrolled in biomedical science, but as that first year progressed, I realised I wasn’t ready to commit,” she said.
A sideway glance at journalism was the only remaining hurdle before Michelle found her feet in the psychology department and she hasn’t looked back.
After completing her degree, Michelle bounced back and forth between the Territory and Queensland, and in the process met her husband and had a few kids.
‘It has been a crazy journey but a lot of fun,” Michelle said.
As Gove’s only permanent private psychologist, Michelle’s relocation in July 2016 was assisted by two grants – the first from Developing East Arnhem Limited and the second from NT PHN.
NT PHN’s New to Territory Grant offers support and assistance to allied health professionals who are relocating to the Territory to work.
“These grants have helped a lot with my relocation and made the transition back into remote living so much easier,” Michelle added.
With nine months in Gove under her belt, Michelle has been struck by the enormity of mental health issues across the East Arnhem community.
“Mental illness in remote regions is amplified not only by the sparsity of essential services but by geographic isolation and separation from family and friends,” Michelle said.
“I’m keen to expand my services into Indigenous health which I know will take time and patience.”
With her husband and two small children in tow, Michelle and her family are adjusting well into the remote lifestyle.
“We love Gove and its simple lifestyle, we have time to appreciate each other and camp at incredible locations like Cape Arnhem,” Michelle said.
“It was an easy decision to move back here, it’s home.”
Find out more about NT PHN’s New to Territory Grant.
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Irene Simonda, Refugee Health Coordinator at the Melaleuca Refugee Centre
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Connecting Darwin’s newly arrived refugees into the primary health care they need
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When registered nurse Irene Simonda commenced in the role of Refugee Health Coordinator at Darwin’s Melaleuca Refugee Centre (MRC) in July 2016, she was well-versed with the challenges and rewards that lay ahead.
With a keen interest in how health care systems are designed in terms of accessibility and equity, Irene has naturally been drawn to refugee health, with refugees known to face barriers in accessing quality health services.
Originally from Zambia, Irene’s career has evolved from working in acute clinical settings and health administration across three countries – Zambia, South Africa and finally Australia.
Following a role with Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) in South Africa, Irene accepted a job offer with Darwin Private Hospital in the acute clinical setting.
“When I was offered the role, I wondered where on earth Darwin was and learnt it was remote, hot and humid - but this didn’t deter me in any way,” she said.
Any apprehension Irene had about her move to the Northern Territory vanished when she arrived in 2010, with the slower pace and relaxed lifestyle suiting her family well.
The NT PHN funded Refugee Health Coordinator role works closely with settlement services, community development, torture and trauma, and counselling services to ensure that newly arrived refugees are connected to the right health services.
With the new role operating out of the MRC, an exciting opportunity exists to connect all the primary health services together under a person-centred approach.
“Working as part of the MRC team fosters synergy and connection which will optimise health outcomes for the refugees,” Irene said.
NT PHN Senior Project Officer for Refugee Health, Dino Tuason, said that it’s during the first 12 months of settlement refugees need the most help and guidance.
“The initial focus is ensuring newly arrived refugees have access to coordinated and culturally appropriate health services as we increase their knowledge of the Australian health system,” Dino said.
“This will support a smooth transition for them into primary health care services, enabling them to become empowered and independent members of our community,” he said.
Awarded the individual category for the Administrator’s Medals in Primary Health Care in 2016, Irene has completed a Masters Research Project in Refugee Health with Curtin University.
Now an Australian citizen, Irene can’t imagine doing anything else.
“The greatest gift for me in this work is empowering refugees to self-manage their heath needs and successfully navigate our primary health system,” she said.
Find out more about NT PHN’s Refugee Health Program.
World Refugee Day 2017 is held on 20 June with MRC hosting celebrations on Saturday, 17 June.
For more information about Melaleuca World Refugee Celebrations or to volunteer with MRC visit www.melaleuca.org.au.
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Go Rural students vist NT PHN's Darwin office
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Students taste life as a Territory health professional
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What’s it like to work and live in the Northern Territory? What motivates health professionals to work in rural and remote communities? These are just two of a number of questions addressed through the highly successful Go Rural Program.
Facilitated by Rural Health Workforce Australia in partnership with NT PHN, the program encourages health students across Australia to consider a future in rural practice.
This year, six students participated in the Territory program which involved a week-long trip that immersed them in experiences both clinical and lifestyle.
NT PHN’s Education and Professional Development Coordinator, Diana Carli-Seebohm, said that future Workforce initiatives like the Go Rural Program aim to bring students to the Territory to see first-hand the opportunities that are on offer.
“Our aim is to provide the students a first-hand glimpse of what living and working in the Territory looks like on a daily basis,” Diana said.
“In doing so, we promote rural work and lifestyle, and showcase the many highlights and diverse challenges that are unique to the Territory.”
This year’s group included emerging practitioners in the disciplines of medicine, nursing, paramedicine, dentistry and social work.
Medical student, Sebastian Kirby, said that the program provided a real insight into the training pathways available for health professionals in the Territory, information he says will better inform him in the future.
“A highlight for me was meeting with health professionals and training providers, and strengthening my understanding of the pathways that exist in the Territory for people like me,” Sebastian said.
Cultural awareness training provided in-kind by Northern Territory General Practice Education provided participants with valuable information on communicating with Aboriginal people in the health context.
“The cultural awareness training was wonderful and provided a great snapshot of the rich cultural landscape that exists in the Territory and its relationship to health care,” Sebastian said.
Funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Health, the program enables students to ask challenging questions, network with experienced health practitioners and better understand health issues faced by Aboriginal people.
In its sixth year, the program included visits to Litchfield and Nitmiluk National Parks to introduce two of the many beautiful attractions on offer in the Territory.
“We know a big draw card to working in the Territory is the opportunity to make a difference and the experience of working with locals which can be professionally and personally rewarding," Diana said.
To find out more information about Go Rural visit www.rhwa.org.au
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NT PHN's Principal Program Officer, Liberty Green, leading the NDIS rollout in the Northern Territory
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A slow and steady pace for the Territory's NDIS transition
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The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) transition is in full swing, with NT PHN taking a lead role in facilitating its roll out within the Partners in Recovery (PIR) program.
With the Territory transition to the full scheme running until July 2019, results are already being seen in the Barkly and East Arnhem regions where 14 of the 89 PIR clients have successfully transitioned to the NDIS, with another four clients currently registered in the access process.
NT PHN’s Principal Program Officer for PIR, Liberty Green, says the scheme will offer people living with mental health conditions and disability, greater empowerment, choice and control over their health care.
“The NDIS offers new and improved ways to support people in achieving their best health outcomes and places control of an individual's health care into their own hands, with safeguards in place to protect them,” Liberty said.
The NDIS is being introduced in stages across the Territory with the scheme being rolled out by geographical sub-regions.
“What this means on the ground is that Territorians will move to the NDIS at different times, depending on where they live,” Liberty explained.
While the NDIS is widely seen as health reform for the better, rolling it out across the Territory brings with it unique challenges not seen in other parts of Australia.
“The challenges for services in remote areas have been long standing here, and are well known to health providers,” Liberty said.
“The lack of locally available services, high levels of transience, large distances between communities, extreme weather events and difficult terrain have a significant impact on the efficacy of the NDIS transition.”
Overcoming these matters is no small feat, and the linguistic and cultural differences that are prevalent across the Territory are particularly testing to the roll out process.
“Genuine understanding of the cultural parameters of a region is critical for effective NDIS transitions in that region,” Liberty said.
“The National Disability Insurance Agency is working with Aboriginal communities to understand the cultural parameters and tailor engagement strategies within these communities to ensure the NDIS transition is culturally appropriate.”
“The East Arnhem Land PIR provider is an Aboriginal community controlled health service. NT PHN is working closely with them to enhance the National Disability Insurance Agency’s strategies, and to support them on a service development level,” she said.
The NDIS is being rolled out nationally to support Australians under 65 with a permanent and significant disability.
Further information on the Territory’s NDIS roll out can be found here.
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Minister for Aged Care and Indigenous Health, The Honourable Ken Wyatt AM MP, meets with NT PHN's Board members.
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National Suicide Prevention Trial underway in Darwin
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On 2 May 2017, NT PHN participated in a high-level roundtable discussion on suicide prevention initiatives for Aboriginal people in the Darwin region.
The roundtable discussion was the first step in the National Suicide Prevention Trial in Darwin, led by NT PHN in collaboration with local stakeholders.
NT PHN Chief Executive Officer, Nicki Herriot, said the purpose of the trial is to plan and implement a system-wide approach to meet local suicide prevention needs.
“Rates of death by suicide in the Northern Territory sadly remain the highest in the country. In 2015, 50 lives were taken by suicide in the NT. Young people - males and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - are especially overrepresented in these figures,” Nicki said.
“There is no doubt that we need to look at different ways to reduce the suicide rates in the Territory.”
The addition of Darwin, Central Queensland, Western New South Wales and Mid-West Western Australia brings the total trial sites to twelve taking part in the $46 million trial aimed at delivering better mental health services across Australia.
NT PHN will administer the funding for the Darwin trial and, in consultation with the local community and government, decide what services can be brought together and assess which are most effective. This will be done in alignment with NT PHN’s commissioning principles, and the organisation’s Constitutional commitments to supporting and strengthening Aboriginal community control of comprehensive primary health care
“Whilst the trial is in the very early stages, I’m encouraged by the group’s commitment to finding local, community owned responses to this very serious health issue,” Nicki said.
The next step is to establish a Community Advisory Group that will include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have a lived experience of suicide.
The trial will gather evidence on how a systems-based approach at a regional level can best respond to local suicide prevention needs, and further understanding of suicide prevention strategies for at-risk populations. The announced funding of $1 million per year until 2018–19 is in addition to existing mental health and suicide prevention activities commissioned through NT PHN.
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Celebrations at Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation's 25th birthday (photo courtesty of Miwatj Health)
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Celebrating 25 years of working collaboratively in Aboriginal health
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For more than two decades, Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation (Miwatj Health) has been providing holistic primary health care to the people of East Arnhem Land.
What makes Miwatj Health particularly special is that it is based on a model of health care created by Aboriginal people for Aboriginal people.
An event was held on 25 and 26 May to recognise this milestone and celebrate the opening of the new Galiwin’ku Health Centre and its transition to community control.
Chair of NT PHN Board, Dr Andrew Bell, attended the celebrations and said 25 years was a significant milestone that should be widely recognised and celebrated.
“The Miwatj Health model benefits Aboriginal people by empowering them to deliver health services to themselves and their community, it’s a model that has been shown to work,” Dr Bell said.
“It’s a credit to the Yolngu, Warnindilyakwa and Nunggubuyu leaders who had a vision so many years ago to work together to create their own health care service.”
Miwatj Health was acknowledged at the event for its ongoing success in improving mental health outcomes for the community. The award-winning Yolngu managed service was presented with a Resilient Australia Award for the development and implementation of a trauma-informed disaster relief program in the aftermath of two cyclones that hit Elcho Island in 2015.
Miwatj Health delivers a range of programs funded by NT PHN including, Partners in Recovery, mental health, social emotional wellbeing services and Integrated Team Care.
The celebration saw the launch of an innovative new DVD, Dhukarr Mulkurrgu Gunga’yunaraw (Pathways in Mental Health) on best practice mental health approaches in Aboriginal communities.
The DVD - funded by NT PHN’s PIR sector reform initiative and produced by the Aboriginal Resource and Development Service - offers insight into Aboriginal mental health care and the culturally sensitive, engaged and integrated service model provided by Yolngu and Balanda health practitioners.
“NT PHN is committed to improving mental health services across the Territory and will continue to work closely with Miwatj Health to support their efforts in this space,” Dr Bell said.
For more information on NT PHN’s Mental Health program contact Sally Weir, Health Stream Manager on 8982 1000.
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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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Health Network Northern Territory Ltd operating as Northern Territory PHN
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Darwin PO Box 2562, 0801
t: 08 8982 1000
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Alice Springs PO Box 1195, 0870
t: 08 8950 4800
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