In the last issue of North of 26˚, I touched on Northern Territory PHN’s (NT PHN) commitment to building strong partnerships that will embed health commissioning across all that we do. In the past months, I have travelled to Katherine, Tennant Creek and Gove to drive our regional engagement activities that will inform us in moving forward with our health planning and health system integration. I look forward to keeping you updated of NT PHN’s recent developments throughout the Territory.

In this quarterly issue, Dr John Purton, recipient of the NT General Practitioner Locum Acknowledgment of Service Award at the Compass Teaching and Learning Conference 2016, shares his story of working across rural and remote parts of the Territory. Incontinence affects those living remotely and is a culturally delicate topic in Indigenous communities. NT PHN has produced short educational videos in four Aboriginal languages in collaboration with Indigenous focus groups, which we will showcase.

We explore Practice Support’s HealthPathways program which is currently being developed, and discuss the involvement of Territorian clinicians in the Medical Benefits Scheme stakeholder forum held in Darwin and Alice Springs in July. We congratulate the winners of the Administrator’s Medals in Primary Health Care 2016, and also review the recent Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association events, held in Darwin.

We will continue to share more of our latest activities, achievements and updates with you in our next edition of North of 26˚ in early December. Until then, I hope this issue keeps you informed and interested in our current developments.

Above: Dr John Purton enjoying bush tucker

GP Locum work offers a unique Territory experience for those open to an adventure

The promise of adventure and greater fulfilment lured Dr John Purton into becoming a general practitioner (GP) locum in the Northern Territory ten years ago.

After years of being a GP on the Gold Coast, John found himself spending more time ‘appeasing the worried well’ than ‘healing the sick’.

“I started researching possibilities in Australia, and it seemed to me that working in the Territory, as the final frontier, would give me the sense of purpose and adventure I was seeking,” John said.

In 2006 John made his first trip to the Territory, travelling more than 3000 kilometres from his Gold Coast home to work as a locum in Kalkarindji, a community 400 kilometres south of Katherine.

“I was handed the keys to a Landcruiser, given a satellite phone and told to follow the sun for six hours to my community,” John said. “It was a fantastic sense of freedom heading off into the unknown like that.”

Coupled with excitement for the adventure ahead was great apprehension that he was not equipped with the skills needed to take on this new challenge.

“I was apprehensive and worried that I was completely out of my depth, but it was the most satisfying feeling to rise above that apprehension and conquer it,” he said.

The apprehension felt by John was eased by the support he received from NT PHN.

“NT PHN was right by my side from the very beginning. Everything was taken care of, including getting me to the placement and back, orientation and of course, timely payments. They were first class,” John said.

John has returned to the Territory a further nine times since 2006, working in communities from Arnhem Land to the Red Centre, for periods of a few weeks to a few months. During that time, John worked with what he describes as ‘extraordinary’ remote nurses and Aboriginal health workers – a partnership he says is critical to remote community health improvement.

“Unfortunately, our Aboriginal countrymen and women are ‘the great unworried unwell’, and it is quite astounding the burden of illness they stoically carry,” John said.

“One of the great challenges of remote locum work is that you are diagnosing and treating conditions many times a day that would have bypassed a suburban general practice and gone straight to the Emergency Department.”

But it’s not all work, with plenty of opportunities to pursue personal interests and enjoy the surrounding country. In his down time John enjoys walking, cycling and swimming in waterholes as well as spending time within the community he serves.

“It is pure joy to be taken into the confidence of elders and hear their life story, and you can’t help but be amused by the kiddies who generally make their presence felt with gusto,” John said.

While there are approximately 130 GP locums registered with NT PHN, far less are active. NT PHN is working hard to attract more specialist GPs to full-time and locum work to improve health and wellbeing for people across the Northern Territory.

And what advice does John have for others considering GP locum work?

“They should just go for it,” John said. “If you have a sense of adventure, are resilient, can work in a team environment and are able to cheerily absorb the frustration that working remotely brings, then locum work might be for you.”

John was awarded the General Practitioner Locum Acknowledgement for Outstanding Service this year and has no plans to stop, with future trips already in the pipeline.

To find out more about becoming a GP locum in the Northern Territory, or to talk to one of our experienced locums about the opportunities, contact NT PHN’s Locum Coordinator on 08 7912 5510 or locum@ntphn.org.au

Above: Photo still from incontinence video

Sketch videos helping Aboriginal people with incontinence

NT PHN has produced sketch videos about incontinence, including who it affects, its causes, symptoms and where to get help.

NT PHN Senior Project Officer, Jade Tavane, explains that incontinence affects a range of people, including Aboriginal men and women living in remote communities.

“Unmanaged incontinence can impact on health and wellbeing, and can be a difficult topic to describe for people who speak English as a second or third language,” she said.

The short videos have been produced in gender-specific formats in English and four Aboriginal languages: Pitjantjatjara, Western Arrernte, Warlpiri and Alyawarra. This resource is designed to support communication between patients and health practitioners and is an effective tool to improve health literacy. A user guide for health practitioners is available.

Above: Dr Sam Salamisaadatloo speaking with a patient

A path to better primary health care in the Territory

HealthPathways is a web-based information portal designed to integrate health services and is coming to the Northern Territory in 2017. Still in the early stages of development, HealthPathways will be localised to support clinicians plan patient care through the Territory’s primary health care system.

NT PHN Executive Manager Health Planning and Partnerships, Greg Henschke, is excited to see the tool developed in the Territory.

“It can be used during consultations, primarily for general practitioners but also hospital specialists, practice nurses or managers, community health providers and allied health professionals within the Territory,” Greg said.

“It will certainly make life a lot easier for Territorian clinicians, by providing local information that is up-to-date and simple to use.”

The ‘pathways’ - which could include areas such as acute services, child health, women’s health and mental health - will be developed in collaboration with GPs, specialists, nurses and allied health professionals. 

“As we begin our journey to develop this exciting tool, working groups will be established that will consist of GPs, specialists and stakeholders, and supported by editors,” Greg said.

“NT PHN has a dedicated HealthPathways Coordinator, Trudy Allpike, who comes from within the primary health sector, and she will be driving this project for us in the coming months.”

The introduction of the HealthPathways tool is a part of NT PHN's commitment to improving practice support across the Territory. For more information, contact the HealthPathways Coordinator on 08 7912 5509 or Trudy.Allpike@ntphn.org.au

Above: Territory clinicians attending the Medical Benefits Scheme Review in Darwin

Medical Benefits Scheme Review in the Territory

Territory clinicians had a chance to participate in the Medical Benefits Scheme (MBS) Review in July when the Taskforce travelled to Darwin and Alice Springs. These meetings are part of the national review established in 2015 to assess all 5700 items on the schedule and their alignment with contemporary clinical evidence and practice. 

NT PHN Executive Manager Health Planning and Partnerships, Greg Henschke, said that the sessions ensured the Territory perspective was captured at a critical point in the review process.

“These sessions were organised at the request of the Commonwealth Department of Health, with 15 clinicians attending in Darwin and eight attending in Alice Springs,” Greg said.

“It was pleasing that these clinicians made the time to participate in the meetings, with the feedback gathered forming an important input into the review process.”

The MBS Review Taskforce engages a wide range of clinicians, consumers and other experts by establishing Clinical Committees to assist with the review. These committees are made up of a number of clinicians, including GPs and specialists, and also health economists, academics, consumers and Northern Territory Department of Health personnel.

The review is being conducted in a series of six Tranche Committees. The findings from the first Tranche Committee have been released for public review, with the release of findings from the other Tranche Committees to follow until all are complete.

The Taskforce will hand down recommendations to the Commonwealth Government in August 2017, at which point the public can review and provide comment. Implementation of the recommendations is anticipated from the end of 2017.

“NT PHN will continue to keep stakeholders informed of the progress being made in this important review,” Greg said.

For more information about the consultations occurring as part of the review, or to view the available reports, visit here.

Stakeholders can choose to complete one or more of the online surveys by Friday, 7 October 2016.

The interim report from the MBS Review Taskforce is also now available online.

Above: Northern Territory health professionals attend the Administrator's Medals in Primary Health Care 2016

Outstanding service in primary health celebrated through prestigious awards

Senior Aboriginal Health Practitioner, Joanne Berry, has been a dedicated member of Barunga Clinic for more than 30 years and is passionate about preventative health and chronic disease programs. Her commitment to primary health care in the community, along with her role as a mentor and trainer for Aboriginal people, was recognised at the recent Administrator’s Medals in Primary Health Care 2016.

The medals are presented annually to recognise and reward outstanding service provided by the Territory’s primary health care professionals.

Joanne was awarded the Individual Medal for her tireless work within the community, including the important support role she offers women and children within the welfare system. Barunga Clinic Manager, Peter Wordsworth, is delighted that Joanne won the medal, and is immensely proud of her commitment to the community.

“Joanne’s dedication to the community has been remarkable over the years, with improvements in health outcomes for the local community being directly attributed to her work,” he said.

With a commitment to proactive health care that fully embraces the Aboriginal communities that they support, it is little surprise that Urapuntja Health Service took out this year’s Team Medal at the awards. 

Urapuntja Health Service works closely with many communities, seeking guidance from them when delivering health services, often in traditional clinic settings at outstations. Urapuntja Health Service Chief Executive Officer, Linda Keating, credits the team’s focus on individual and family empowerment in health care as the key to their success.

“We understand that community involvement is critical to everything we do. We provide a safe place where experience of Aboriginality is understood and embraced,” she said.

The Administrator’s Medals, now in its 13th year, is a chance to recognise and reward the important work undertaken in private health care across the Northern Territory.

Above: Jenne Roberts of Menzies School of Health Research attending the Data Collaboration Network and Innovation Collaboration Network. Image courtesy of AHHA.

Networking bringing health professionals together

The benefits of professional networking are well known; connecting and interacting with likeminded organisations and individuals is beneficial in so many ways.

It is for this reason that NT PHN coordinates a comprehensive education and training program, and proudly partners with other organisations to host events throughout the year that bring primary health care professionals together. NT PHN, in conjunction with the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association hosted two important events in July.

The Data Collaboration Network and the Innovation Collaboration Network met on 26 July. 

The Data Collaboration Network seeks opportunities for better use of health data in Australia, including promoting cross-sector collaboration. Presentations on the day included:

• How and Why the ‘Penny Dropped’: eHealth adoption in the NT
• Data Linkages
• Understanding Developmental Trajectories though Data Linkage

The Innovation Collaboration Network provides opportunities to air new and innovative ideas and solutions and expose participants to new ideas, technologies and techniques. Presentations on the day included:

• Chronic Conditions Management Model – Closing the gap through innovative use of data
• Mobile Health: Empowering people with type 2 diabetes using digital tools

Presenters included professionals from the Northern Territory Department of Health, Charles Darwin University, Menzies School of Health Research and the University of Canberra.

The Mental Health Network provides opportunities to share information and expertise around mental health initiatives with a focus on primary health care and met on 27 July. Presentations on the day included:

• Indigenous Mental Health Issues
• Mental Health Professionals Network Mental Health Clinical Services Commissioning Principles
• Community Mental Health in the Northern Territory
• Integration of Psychologist into Core PHC Team in a Remote Aboriginal Community
• Queensland’s Transition to National Disability Insurance Scheme for Mental Health – Update
• Bridging Yolngu Mental Health Literacy Gaps
• Darwin Homelessness Response Group Pilot – Learnings and the Way Forward

Presenters included professionals from the mental health sector, Australian Psychological Society, Northern Territory Department of Health and St Vincent De Paul Society.

All of the presentations made at these events are available for viewing:

• 26 July 2016 - Data Collaboration Network/Innovation Collaboration Network Presentations
• 27 July 2016 - Mental Health Network Presentations

For more event information, visit NT PHN events calendar.