BlueCare, a prominent provider of in-home care and aged care services in Queensland, have been navigating the challenges of workforce attraction in a competitive labour market.

With a team of around 8,500 employees and 500 volunteers, BlueCare recognises the need for a consistent influx of skilled personal care workers, especially as demand for services continues to rise.

To address workforce shortages and retention issues, BlueCare have adopted a “Grow Our Own” strategy, including forming partnerships with selected Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to enhance training and placement opportunities for students.

However, while RTO partners provide access to a pool of students, challenges remain. Many students are not located in the areas where the organisation has immediate workforce needs. Additionally, placements do not always align with students career aspirations, resulting in lower conversion rates from placement to employment.

To tackle these issues, BlueCare has implemented several practical solutions. Including:

BlueCare have increased their educational partnerships from three to seven, ensuring better alignment with staffing needs. A placement request template has been introduced to gauge student availability and interest, while a workforce attraction flyer has been created to help students find job openings and submit inquiries.

Furthermore, the organisation has developed a strategy that enables personal care students to be hired as supervised (unqualified) personal carers prior to or during their placements, allowing them to gain valuable experience and receive paid shifts.

Existing employees also have opportunities to undertake paid training and participate in practical placements to upskill and advance their careers.

On top of these initiatives, BlueCare has seen success in its traineeship program, with over 433 traineeships initiated since February 2022 and a retention rate of 71%.

By continuing to foster a supportive learning environment, BlueCare aims to strengthen its workforce and ensure that qualified personal care workers are available to meet the needs of the community.

CheckUP is excited to report that patient feedback survey responses are starting to flow in and a number of providers have already received their first personalised feedback reports.

The state-wide results from over 250 responses between July and December 2024 have been extremely positive and the first weeks of January have seen another 50 arrive.

We would love to be able to provide you all with your own feedback directly from your patients and increase your value-based healthcare capabilities. We are aiming for one thousand responses state wide for 2024-2025 with as much patient and provider representation as possible, so please get involved in this important quality improvement activity.

State-wide results for July-December 2024:

Experience of care:

Outcomes of care:

A variety of survey formats (paper and digital) have been developed to suit individual patient preferences. Information and resources were mailed out to providers in late 2024 in an evaluation pack.

If your patients are comfortable with online entry, ask your Regional Coordinator for a loan of their CheckUP feedback iPad or hand out the A4 posters or small business cards with the QR code included in your evaluation packs sent out late last year. Otherwise select from the range of paper surveys you were sent and contact your Regional Coordinator when you need refills.

CheckUP contracts 20 podiatry providers to deliver Outreach services to 65 unique locations across the state.

CheckUP funded podiatrists play a critical role in managing lower limb issues and chronic disease management in high need communities. They also provide upskilling to local health professionals to manage issues between podiatry visits and engage with patients to better understand and manage their chronic conditions.

Accessibility of services closer to home and health outcomes are two main priorities in managing and delivering Outreach programs. Across the 733 podiatry visits delivered to date, providers have reported positive outcomes including:

It was particularly lovely to read the comments in a recent report from Andrew Khoury who provides a popular podiatry service to Kilkivan; ‘This has been a very successful year professionally and regionally. We will endeavour to provide the same competent level of care in 2025. Thank you, CheckUP, for your ongoing support during this year. Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas season’. We certainly appreciate your ongoing commitment to Outreach, along with all our providers.

Outreach services are designed and delivered considering the quadruple aims of improved:

• health outcomes
• patient experiences
• provider experiences
• effectiveness and efficiency

We understand that delivering Outreach services can be challenging and you need to manage your own wellbeing and avoid burnout.

If you missed the webinar on Strengthening Staff Wellbeing In The Health Sector with Dr Liz Crowe, you can access it here.

The Australian Podiatry Association’s latest issue of Stride also has a personal perspective article on Burnout in podiatry and working to mitigate the risk of burnout.

A CheckUP provider is pictured with a patient above.

World Diabetes Day is held annually on 14 November. This year’s theme, Diabetes and Wellbeing, aims to put wellbeing into the heart of diabetes care, believing that with appropriate access to diabetes care and support for their wellbeing, everyone with diabetes has the chance to live well.

However, not everyone has the same access to diabetes care. Hospitalisation and rates of death related to diabetes are significantly higher in rural and remote communities than in major Australian cities.

CheckUP recently spoke with a few of the Outreach Credentialled Diabetes Educators who are improving the equity of diabetes care and changing the lives of Western Queenslanders.

Diabetes Australia is supported by funding from Western Queensland PHN through the Australian Government’s PHN Program, and we would like to extend our appreciation for this support.

Diabetes is one of the top health priorities within Western Queensland, with diabetes contributing to a significant burden of illness and complications being one of the main reasons for hospitalisation within the region.

People living rurally and remotely are:

Statistics taken from the Western Queensland Diabetes Service Framework  pictured over an aerial photo of Mount Isa.

In some of Western Queensland’s remote communities diabetes impacts up to 20 per cent of the population, with many people also living with other health conditions.

Compared with non-Indigenous Australians, Indigenous Australians are:

Statistics taken from the Western Queensland Diabetes Service Framework  pictured over an aerial photo of Lake Broadwater, Dalby.

National Skin Cancer Action Week (17-23 Nov) is an annual awareness initiative highlighting the need to do more to protect all Australians from the sun.

Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, with approximately two in three Australians diagnosed with skin cancer during their lifetime.

Recently, Dr Alan Poggio, an Outreach provider who delivers skin cancer services in Cloncurry as part of CheckUP’s  Skin Cancer Early Detection (SCED) Service, shared his experience.

The SCED Service aims to create fairer access to professional assessment and treatment of skin cancer for people who live in rural, regional, and remote locations where such services are limited or non-existent.

Pictured above: Dr Alan Poggio

Pictured above: An aerial sunrise image is featured with feedback from a SCED patient.

Pictured above: Dr Alan Poggio is shown supervising a James Cook University medical student during training.

Pictured above: The number of SCED patients who were supported from 2023 – 2024 Financial Year is pictured over an aerial photo of Chinaman Creek Dam, Cloncurry.

Pictured above: Dr Alan’s photography featured on the ABC’s weather report.