10 Years supporting eye care in Queensland

CheckUP proudly reflects on its own decade of leadership as Queensland’s jurisdictional fundholder. Over the last 10 years, CheckUP has supported outreach providers by managing funding, facilitating service planning and referral pathways, and collaborating with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and key stakeholders.

This work has helped maintain continuity of care and ensured VOS services remain aligned with cultural, geographic, and logistical realities across Queensland. Throughout this time, CheckUP has strengthened partnerships with optometrists, local health providers, and community organisations, ensuring services are responsive to local needs and delivered seamlessly.

Image – Fiona Moore (Optometry Qld/NT and CheckUP VOS Provider)

Growing Queensland’s outreach optometry network

Several VOS providers have been with CheckUP since 2015 when we started with 11 providers – this has now grown to 21. Along with the communities they serve, we are very appreciative of their commitment and dedicated service to delivering outreach.

Image – Dr Shelley Hopkins QUT, Gayle Stallard CheckUP, Tanya Morris, Country Director – Indigenous Australia Program | The Fred Hollows Foundation

The future of outreach eye care in Queensland

As VOS enters its next 50 years, CheckUP celebrates the shared achievements of providers, partners, and communities. The organisation remains committed to supporting equitable access to eye care for rural, remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and continuing its role in sustaining and strengthening the VOS legacy across Queensland.

Image – Senator the Hon Anne Ruston (Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care)

Celebrating Dr Sandra Zeeman’s 12 years of service to Kilkivan

Dr Zeeman was instrumental in establishing the service back in November 2013, with her first visit on 21 November that year.

In her farewell speech, Dr Zeeman said that serving the Kilkivan community was the highlight of her career. She is delighted to be leaving the community in good hands, having recommended Dr James Mann and Dr James Pearson and supported their transition into the role.

Getting the care that matters

At their first clinic appointments, Carolanne and Dr Russell walked the family through their options for ongoing treatment, focusing on insulin pump technology which allows insulin to be delivered directly into the body with a thin tube called a canula. By the end of April 2024, Summer was equipped with her first pump, a huge milestone many families wait months to achieve.

“While I didn’t know this at the time, I later discovered that without the Emerald clinic, we would have faced a lengthy wait and likely would have needed to travel to Hervey Bay for similar specialist care,” her mum explains.

Instead, Summer’s been continually supported by a highly qualified and experienced  local healthcare team and supplemented by specialists from Queensland Children’s Hospital through both telehealth and in-person consultations.

Summer being transported by CapRescue helicopter with a flight paramedic monitoring her care during the medical emergency transfer.

More than medical appointments

“This approach has been nothing short of incredible for Summer,” her mum said. “Not only has she developed strong relationships with her health team, but she’s also returned to her happy, healthy self in record time.”

The clinic has been able to give Summer’s family something just as meaningful as medical management, they’ve given her a sense of community, a group of passionate people along for the ride.

“The clinic has done more than manage her medical condition. It’s given us a sense of community during a challenging time and ensured that distance wasn’t a barrier to exceptional healthcare.”

Summer with her mother outside their home, showing her recovery and resilience after her medical emergency.

Local care matters

The Emerald Diabetes Clinic is part of CheckUP’s Rural Health Outreach Fund program, which has delivered over 56,000 appointments across 111 communities as of 2024. Each of those appointments represents a family like Summer’s getting access to care that would otherwise mean hours of travel, time off work, and nights away from home.

Healthcare professionals like Carolanne and Dr Louise demonstrate what genuine commitment to regional communities looks like. They bring expertise, certainly. But they also bring something equally important: the understanding that good healthcare means being there when families need you most.

For Summer’s family, having that support locally made a difficult situation manageable, and for Summer, it meant getting back to being a ten-year-old.

Summer at home using a medical monitoring device as part of her ongoing care and recovery.

Rising anxiety and depression

Carole highlighted the importance of discussing mental health challenges openly to ensure people can access support.

“The trend that I have noticed over the last five years has been the rising rates of anxiety and depression in the workplace… hiding away from it and not acknowledging it is actually making it worse for people.”

Burnout in the healthcare sector

With healthcare workers on the front line, their self-care can often be neglected.

“Particularly in the healthcare sector, is burnout and compassion fatigue… people working in healthcare, they are always caring for other people. And they generally, I find in my experience, don’t care for themselves as much.”

On loneliness and disconnection:

“I have certainly found in the work that I’ve done with organisations that have a complete work-from-home system in place, people are finding it really lonely, and it obviously is impacting their culture.”

Carole’s insights shine a light on the need for intentional communication, connection, and community-building, particularly with remote and rural work, plus virtual environments.

Rethinking how we care for our teams

You might not expect to find answers to healthcare challenges at 30,000 feet, but aviation giants like American Airlines and Qantas offered game-changing insights. They shared how they are tackling staff shortages and managing professional development through innovative systems that support the entire lifecycle of their pilots—from recruitment and training to wellbeing. 

This proactive and strategic approach to employee care sparked exciting parallels for how we can better attract, support, and retain our own critical medical and clinician workforces right here in Queensland. It’s a shift from simply filling roles to nurturing people and careers. 

Unleash your team’s full potential with Allied Health

A major focus from health systems across the country, including NSW, SA, Vic and Eastern Health, was the incredible value of Allied Health Assistants. 

By empowering Allied Health Assistants to handle specific tasks to free up qualified Allied Health professionals to work at the top of their scope of practice and increase impact by being able to treat more patients. 

The result? A more efficient team, improved patient outcomes, a responsive clinic environment anda strategic and sustainable, holistic business model . This a powerful reminder that building a stronger workforce isn’t just about hiring more people—it’s about leveraging and empowering your current team. 

People are looking for remote roles that are realistic and rewarding

Attracting and retaining staff in rural and remote areas is one of Queensland’s biggest challenges. The conference showcased powerful stories of perseverance, such as motivating and innovative advertising campaigns to legislating incentives such as additional leave for remote health workers, and real time research to understand the demands and increments of specific roles. 

These initiatives are crucial for acknowledging the unique nature of these roles and creating environments where health professionals can work and importantly thrive. 

Reinforcing that supporting our rural and remote workforces isn’t just a policy issue—it’s a commitment to ensuring equitable care for all Queenslanders.