Health

Emma Pritchard. A project team has been appointed to oversee the $263.8 million redevelopment of Grafton Base Hospital (GBH), after the Minister for Regional Health Bronnie Taylor, and NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole met with Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis and members of the Grafton Base Hospital Community Committee (GBHCC) earlier this month. Mr Gulaptis said the NSW Government’s investment in the major redevelopment of GBH will provide new facilities and upgraded clinical services to transform health outcomes and experiences for patients, their families, and staff into the future.

It took a recent Freedom of Information request for documents to be released from the EPA stating that dangerous lead levels in wild ducks have been found in tests at four of 23 Victorian shooting waterways across Victoria. The documents were obtained by a not-for-profit group called Regional Victorians Opposed to Duck Shooting.

Alice Melita. Dentist Renae Philp and her dental assistant Melanie Villella believe they have one of the best jobs in Australia as they travel to remote communities across Queensland. This week, the Royal Flying Doctor Service duo will finish working in Dajarra before a trip to Boulia from August 23 ... “Meeting amazing country folks who are so excited to have us in their community and being able to service the community at no cost to them.”

Ali Bohn ... My loved one has dementia and they have no bloody idea who I am at the best of times, but add this freak show costume and it’s an impossible situation. But I am Covid-19 negative, so why am I wearing all the paraphernalia?

Emma Pritchard. The Clarence Valley Independent hit the streets last week and asked members of the public to share their thoughts after the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) revealed Grafton Base Hospital (GBH) had no on-site obstetrician, or available locums to cover shortages, and subsequently, expectant and birthing mothers were being referred to Lismore Base Hospital and Coffs Harbour Health Campus.

A woman who helped save the life of her friend on a remote Cape York cattle station has been crowned the 2022 RFDS Local Hero Award winner for the Cairns region ... With Coen more than an hour’s drive away, and the nearest hospital at Weipa unable to be accessed due to flooding, Emma used the defibrillator machine on the property and performed CPR for an hour to help Peter bring his wife back to life.

Mapoon will this month get its long-awaited primary health care centre, designed in consultation with the community and operated by Apunipima Cape York Health Council ... Mapoon resident and primary health care centre manager Debra Jia said she was excited about the opening and having the modern and spacious new facility to service the needs of her community.

The designs of the new $260 million state-of-the-art Eurobodalla Regional Hospital have been unveiled, showcasing an overall increase in bed capacity and significantly expanded health service. Minister for Health Brad Hazzard said the new hospital will provide more services than are currently available at the Moruya and Batemans Bay hospitals combined.

We Al-li is providing culturally informed-trauma integrated workshops in Tennant Creek and is planning to visit communities across the Barkly. The programs, which are free and open to all community members, are for health, sharing culture and regenerating the spirit.

Welshman’s Reef resident, and experienced yoga teacher, Amy Sonsie, opened Take a Breath Wellness Studio at the beginning of 2022. Amy offers a range of well-being services to people who are feeling overwhelmed and need valuable skills to help in times of stress, mental illness, and anxiety.

On Saturday 10 September Maldon’s CFA Captain, Sean McCubbin, and 600 other firefighters and emergency services personnel will be climbing the 28 floors of Crown Metropol Hotel to raise funds for mental health. Participants will be wearing 25kgs of turnout gear and breathing apparatus as they climb the steps for the ninth annual Melbourne Firefighter Stair Climb, which aims to break down the stigma around mental health, and be a leader in the emergency services community in the mental health space.

Alice Melita. After 11 years of service to Cloncurry and the surrounding district, Dr Leonie Fromberg has decided it’s time to trade stunning desert sunsets for beautiful ocean sunrises as she moves from the North West to the Cassowary Coast ... Dr Fromberg said working in remote areas often meant long hours and high stress, which meant the personal life suffered. “The flip side of that is the depth of knowledge and skill a doctor can develop out here,” she told North West Weekly.

Elspeth Radford. Izak Mentz family migrated to Australia from South Africa when he was four and after living in a few different regions across Australia, settled in Wallaroo on Yorke Peninsula ... Having spent his formative years in a small rural community, Izak applied to be part of the Flinders University MD Rural Stream which would allow him to study for a full year in a regional location, developing his clinical skills and learning from rural doctors.

Residents of Wyreema may no longer have to travel out of town to visit a doctor or dentist. A development application has been submitted to Toowoomba Regional Council to construct a dental and medical practice on the corner of Newman Road and Balfour Street (Toowoomba Karara Road).

New equipment for the chemotherapy ward has been donated by the Leukaemia Foundation, to help honour a local woman's wish. Darling Downs Health Nurse Unit Manager Robyn Cameron said the staff at Warwick Hospital are extremely grateful.

Ally Scholl is looking for a general practitioner for her family but hasn’t been able to get any appointments yet. Laura Anderson Parker said she finally found a decent GP but then “they are gone again. And repeat”. Sheryl Nielsen said it took weeks to get in to see a doctor.

Dhelkaya Health is setting up a new committee that will work behind the scenes to help people maintain their health and wellbeing for longer.

Set on 22 acres in Shelbourne, Equine Healing Centre Bendigo was established in 2019, as a place to help people to recover from trauma or for those suffering from emotional and physical burnout to practice restorative self-care, through experiential learning. Owner, Tracey Kenny-Dive, studied at the Equine Psychotherapy Institute in Daylesford as an accredited Equine Assisted Learning Practitioner.

The first rural Safe Space in Victoria, Castlemaine Safe Space (CaSS) is a non-clinical support service, staffed by trained Peer Volunteers, who have lived experience of emotional distress and/or suicidality. The pop-up Safe Space will initially be operated from two venues in Castlemaine, the Senior Citizens Centre and the Salvation Army hall on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

The NSW Government is backing growing industry calls for the urgent development of a national mandatory sheep and goat electronic identification system in light of the serious threat of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) entering Australia ... “Individual traceability for sheep and goats will be crucial during an emergency disease outbreak and deliver benefits across the supply chain" : Dugald Saunders, NSW Agriculture Minister.

Samuel Davis. Pacing across treasured destinations isn't anything unusual for distance runner Jamie Candler. But for some reason, every euphoric stride through Yarraden Nature Refuge felt unlike any trundle he'd been on before ... the mad dash between the remote communities was just a small part of a monumental 1000km journey for the Cairns-based youth worker.