Tell us a bit about the exciting projects you are currently working on?

I’m currently working on two micro-credentialling projects for CheckUP. The first is the Going all OUT for Outreach suite of micro-credentials. The second is a new project that CheckUP have just been funded by DESBT to do – the ABC of Disability service provision for sole traders and small businesses.

What is your position/role at CheckUP?

My primary role is to oversee the development of CheckUP’s micro-credentialing programs. I also am involved in the new NDIS connect project.

How long have you worked in the health sector? 

Prior to coming to CheckUP, I was a Research Manager at Jobs Queensland where I managed a range of industry and regional research projects and was involved in developing workforce strategies for Queensland’s regions and industries.

I have a health and community services background, having been a registered nurse for 20 years, mainly in hospitals here in Australia and the UK. I’ve also worked in aged care and disability employment services as well as being an aged care trainer and nursing clinical facilitator.

I have also worked in the finance and retail sectors as well as the horse racing industry as a trainer for international jockeys and stablehands.

What does a typical day look like for you?

My day starts early as I have horses which I need to feed, etc before I can even start my paid work! If I’m working from home, I usually start work around 8am and work until 4-4.30pm. I don’t really have a set routine or set tasks as being a Project Officer means that I could be involved in meetings with consultants, doing research for material for inclusion in the micro-credentials, providing secretariat services for the project reference groups, etc. I usually have a list of tasks that I need to complete, so I tend to focus on working through those. I also provide assistance across the workforce team as needed throughout the day.

What aspect of your role do you enjoy the most?

There are several aspects to my work that I enjoy – the variety of tasks that I get to do in a day, the autonomy that comes with my role, and the fact that my work is project based so I get to work on many different projects.

What is one of your favourite aspect about working at CheckUP?

One of the things I love about working at CheckUP is how welcome and included everyone has made me feel.

What activities do you enjoy when you’re not working?

Outside of work, I have three horses and ride competitively – dressage and working equitation. I’m Vice President of the Australian National Working Equitation – Queensland branch as well as a judge so these activities don’t really leave time for much else.

What are you currently listening to at the moment?

Right now, I’m listening to a Spotify Daily Mix so a lot of new Australian music. I’m a big fan of Australian music and tend to listen to it a lot.

Upskill your team! Jane and the CheckUP team are here to support you. 

Are you interested in joining the CheckUP team? Keep an eye on Career Opportunities at CheckUP.

Pictured above: William Hinds, Director and Physiotherapist, Hinterland Physio Group

Photos L to R: Kilkivan Community Health Centre, William’s swag set up for the night.

Pictured above: Dr Julie Todhunter in Tambo.

Pictured above: True team with the Mayor of the Blackall/Tambo Shire.

Pictured above L to R: Dr Linda at Kronosaurus Korner in Richmond QLD, Entrance of Moura Community Hospital, Bowen Salt Works.

Townsville Hospital and Health Service had a monthly flight to Palm Island and Dr O’Brien started travelling to assist with the high-risk pregnancy management in 2020.

“That service was started by a fantastic midwife and sonographer team about 20 years ago,” Dr O’Brien said. This service proved that fly-in, pop-up clinics were possible and supported by the communities.

Women’s Health Circle with the support of CheckUP Australia, began additional flights to Palm Island flights in 2023 to assist with the workload. The aim was to focus on pregnancy screening, monitoring high-risk pregnancies and serious gynaecological conditions like endometriosis.

“Once we started off on Palm, CheckUP Australia were approached by other communities asking for a similar service, and that is how the ‘Care on Country’ program started” Dr O’Brien said.

Since the commencement of the Care on Country program, up to 30 per cent of pregnancies on Mornington Island and 28 per cent of pregnancies in Doomadgee and Normanton were classified as high-risk based on either maternal, placental, uterine or fetal complications – significantly higher than the Australian average of 10 to 15 per cent.

One million people live above the Tropic of Capricorn in Northern Australia – but up until 2019, there was only one MFM service in the entire region.

The establishment of Dr O’Brien’s Women’s Health Circle now brings that number up to two.

Starting on a Sunday, I begin preparing for the week of work ahead, double checking flyers have been sent out to the communities for the coming week and that patient lists have been emailed to the Primary Healthcare Clinics. I also pack for the week, ensuring my equipment is charged and I have plenty of Medicare forms, patient consult sheets and any glasses required for people in the communities we are visiting this week.

I then head to the airport to load and refuel the plane, ensuring she is ready for an early take off in the morning. Sometimes the IBIS stores on the islands have run out of supplies, so I also visit the supermarket for any last-minute supplies needed for the week ahead.

Before I head to bed, I check tomorrow’s weather report. During the wet season the weather changes so quickly. The latest forecast at least gives an idea of what to expect in the morning. During the dry season the weather is generally perfect for flying, so no stress there. I try to get an early night but with the 4.30am wake-up call looming, I find it hard to sleep.

I wake up five minutes before my alarm, it must be Monday morning. After a quick check of the latest satellite weather, which shows decent conditions and no widespread active thunderstorms, we are good to go. The early morning drive to the airport is nice and quiet. As I drive, I scan the sky for any cloud build up. Once at the airport, I do a daily inspection of the plane and wait for my assistant to arrive, another opportunity to check the weather one last time.

My assistant arrives and we take off just as the sun comes up over the horizon; the day’s blue skies lying ahead. We reach our cruising altitude and set the engine up for the 2 hour and 20-minute flight to Horn Island. All the islands are relatively close in the Torres Strait, the furthest, only 1 hour from Horn island.

Time to descend and down we go, dodging any big clouds on the way. It’s such a nice feeling to have the island insight and clear of any rain or weather. We touch down and unload the plane. Shortly afterwards the clinic car arrives and we set off for the clinic. Once we have unloaded and setup in our rooms, we take a quick stroll to the local council office to sign the visitor book. This is so the community knows who is visiting and for how long.

The clinics are walk-ins and people are quite often happy to sit and wait, chatting to staff or other community members while they wait. The eye tests are done just the same as any suburban practice but with portable equipment. If anyone needs spectacles, we can offer free MASS ones for eligible card holders or free Indigenous Spectacle Supply Scheme (SSS) glasses. If anyone wants a higher quality frame or customised lens like a multifocal, which are not included under the SSS we can supply these as well.

Any ocular pathology is referred for ophthalmology assessment and treatment as necessary. All notes are entered into Best Practice clinical software allowing other health care providers access to everything that has been done for the patient. All people that have diabetes will also have retinal photos taken on my portable RetinaVue camera supplied by the Torres Health service. I assess these images and then upload them to Best Practice.

At the end of the working day we fly back into Horn Island as we have a guaranteed bed and food awaiting us there. The flights back to Horn Island from the outer islands are relatively short, most are less than half an hour. The next morning, we are up and back to the airport to fly back out the island again for another day of work. Depending on island population, we will usually be at the one island for 2 or 3 days. Once that island has been seen, we are off to set up at the next island.

Friday comes and when we finish our last clinic session, we fly back to Horn Island to refuel and get a quarantine clearance to fly back to Cairns. The flight home is stress free with good weather, but every now and again the weather is pretty lousy and may delay our flight home until the next morning. During the dry season, this isn’t an issue and flying at night is really quite enjoyable. We touch down in Cairns, unload the plane and head home for a well-deserved Guinness and dinner.

It’s now Saturday and I’m back in the office processing all the paperwork including ordering glasses, setting up payment plans and checking the glasses that have arrived during the week that are to be posted out. Once done, it’s time to settle into a nice relaxing Saturday afternoon before we start all over again on Sunday.

For Queenslanders living in rural and remote communities, access to primary and preventative healthcare services are all too often out of reach. With the support of approximately 150 contracted health providers, CheckUP is committed to improving health outcomes for people living in rural and remote locations, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, bringing healthcare closer to home.

Our latest video encapsulates the impact Outreach Health Services have on the people and communities that need them most. Our dedicated Outreach providers not only provide communities with ongoing, consistent face-to-face health services, but build relationships and ties with the people and communities they serve.

Hear from local community members, Outreach providers and local health facility staff as we collaborate to bring Healthcare closer to home.

We would like to thank the teams from CWAATSICH, Wakai Waian Healing, Institute for Urban Indigenous Health, Clements Medical and Women’s Health Circle for being part of our video.

The Outreach health services program is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care as the jurisdictional fundholder in Queensland.

CheckUP awarded grant to support small businesses and sole traders in disability services sector

CheckUP is pleased to share that on Wednesday, 26 June, the Queensland Government announced we have been awarded grant funding to support small businesses and sole traders working in the disability services sector, particularly in thin markets and regional and remote areas.

This funding will enable CheckUP to build the capacity of the sector to support the delivery of high-quality services to Queenslanders with disability. CheckUP has an established presence in over 170 communities across Queensland including regional, rural, remote locations, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. At our core we are dedicated to supporting communities and reducing inequities by strategically collaborating at a regional and local level to lead improvements through a range of initiatives in capability building, workforce planning, health services and school-based programs.

Commenting on the new funding, CheckUP CEO Ann Maree Liddy said:

“We are grateful for this significant investment to support small disability providers in Queensland.

“We would like to acknowledge the important work that peak disability organisations have done and continue to do for the sector. We look forward to collaborating with these organisations to build a stronger, more resilient disability services sector together.

“Our widespread programs have supported the Queensland health and social assistance sectors to plan for, build and develop a capable and sustainable local workforce and we look forward to extending further support to the Queensland disability sector.

“We have an established footprint in many regional and remote Queensland communities through our current programs. This new project will have a particular focus on supporting disability sole traders and small businesses in regional and remote locations, and we will be building on our existing networks within these communities to support this work.”

The Queensland Government released the following through a media statement yesterday.

The Disability Peak and Representative Bodies–Sector Capacity and Capability grant will provide funding of $100,000 in 2023–24, and $400,000 in ongoing annual funding in 2024–28.

The investment supports the Queensland Government’s priorities under Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021–2031, aiming to improve the lives of Australians with disability.

It will also assist in making Queensland’s over $2 billion annual investment in the National Disability Insurance Scheme more cost-effective by strengthening and improving the capacity and capability of the disability sector.

The announcement comes in the lead up to this week’s Disability Reform Ministerial Council meeting, which is the regular meeting of Commonwealth, state and territory disability ministers.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Disability Services Charis Mullen:

“Every Queenslander deserves the same opportunities and access to the care they need, and that’s why this funding is so important.

“We know there are gaps in services, particularly in rural and remote areas, and this needs to be fixed.

“CheckUP already has strong existing networks across the state in the health area, including in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

“It means they are well positioned to help address issues in a range of locations.

“I look forward to seeing them advocate for and work with small businesses in the disability services sector so they can deliver the best possible services.”

Quotes attributable to the Minister for Employment and Small Business Lance McCallum:

“This is about doing what matters for Queensland – creating good jobs and employing the best people to deliver the best services for Queenslanders with a disability – no matter where they live in our great State.

“The Miles Labor Government is proud to back CheckUP who have a strong history of supporting the workforce in our health and disability sectors.

“As an Industry Workforce Advisor and an Industry Skills Advisor, CheckUP is actively helping businesses to find solutions to the employment challenges they face, and informing training priorities, to best meet sector needs.

“And through our successful Gateway to Industry Schools program, the not-for-profit is encouraging young Queenslanders to pursue inspiring careers in health – with 85 Health Gateway schools across Queensland this year.”

 ENDS

CheckUP hosted the inaugural #GoHealth Careers Expo at the Brisbane Royal International Convention Centre, with over 50 exhibitors and over 90 schools, the expo was a hive of activity with live demonstrations, mock health facilities, and information booths offering insights into school based traineeships and work experience opportunities.

Over 2000 students interested in a career in health made their way through the Exhibition, making industry connections and gaining insight into the health career pathways available to them. From registered training organisations to private hospitals, exhibitors covered the diverse career opportunities within the health sector. Some of the exhibitors included Heart of Australia with their Heart Truck, Queensland Ambulance Service, The Royal Flying Doctors Service and local universities from Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.

As well as the exhibitor stalls there were also insightful presentations held throughout the day on the main stage. Nunukul Yuggera Aboriginal Dance Company opened the event with a special Welcome to Country, students also heard from doctor, lawyer and disability advocate Dinesh Palipana OAM, Shaz Gerchow from Jobs Queensland, Mater education and Deaf Connect who facilitated interactive Auslan activities throughout the day.

This event was a unique collaboration between Queensland Health, Health Gateway to Industry Schools Program and health organisations across Queensland, designed to connect students with industry leaders and open doors to exciting healthcare prospects.

This event would not have been possible without our event sponsors the Queensland Government, Connect ‘n’ Grow,  Seed Foundation Australia, AADA College, TAFE Queensland and ACRRM.

As a part of CheckUP’s Youth Industry Partnerships for Education and Employment (YIPEE) program, seven students from Heatley Collage completed work experience at St. Vincent’s Aged Care in Douglas, Townsville.

After completing their work experience, the students were extended offers of employment at the facility.

St. Vincent’s Aged Care arranged a celebratory event to introduce the students to their forthcoming roles and the residents they will be assisting. The students engaged with the residents, fostering a sense of community and inclusion, for both the students in their upcoming roles and the residents they will be assisting.

It is great to be able to collaborate with organisations like St. Vincent’s Aged Care Douglas, who are committed to providing a culturally safe and supportive environment for students.