108 Bargara Rd
Bundaberg East, Qld, 4670
More than 70 people were treated for urgent illnesses and injuries at IMPACT Community Services’ Pop Up Care Clinic in Agnes Water over the Easter Long Weekend.
Over four days, Dr Dani Buchanan and nurses Pamela Mackie and Kristin James treated a wide range of urgent care needs including wounds requiring sutures, respiratory complaints, ear aches, dental issues, possible broken bones, vomiting and shortness of breath.
One patient required transfer to Bundaberg and subsequent transfer to Brisbane for specialist care, with another patient requiring a cardiac review.
IMPACT Community Health Service Practice Manager Pamela Mackie said the Pop Up Care Clinic was a “resounding success” and was overwhelmed by the support from the community and the positive feedback from those treated.
She said the Pop Up Care Clinic was part of a wider initiative to assess and address the medical needs of the Discovery Coast community, and to work towards providing accessible, affordable and appropriate medical care to residents and visitors of the region.
“Our focus is now to analyse the data that we collected during the clinic so we can look for ways to improve access to health care in our region on a more permanent basis,” Ms Mackie said.
“A number of people who attended the clinic indicated that if the clinic had not been available they would have suffered through their condition or simply have done nothing and hoped they got better rather than travel to Bundaberg or Gladstone 1.5 hours drive away.”
Nurse Kristin James said: “There was a fantastic show of community support and by the number of people who attended it proves the demand for future clinics to be held.”
IMPACT Community Services Managing Director Tanya O’Shea said the feedback from those who attended the clinic highlighted the need for such services to continue in the region, as well as the inequalities in access to healthcare between urban communities and their rural counterparts.
“As an organisation, IMPACT Community Services is dedicated to our mission of improving lives, and part of this is providing accessible and appropriate medical care to residents and visitors to the Discovery Coast region,” she said.
Mrs O’Shea added that local residents and visitors to the Discovery Coast expressed an outpouring of gratitude for the care provided by the Pop Up Care Clinic over the long weekend. One anonymous care recipient wrote: “What an answer to prayer for the long-suffering population of this district.” Another added: “Thank you for offering this amazing service. There are limited services in Agnes/1770 and even if you are unwell it’s a two to three week wait to be seen by a doctor. The community really need this added service.”
The Pop Up Care Clinic was made possible by funding from Country to Coast QLD (CCQ) PHN, and was undertaken as part of the wider Discovery Coast Model of Care Project, a major strategic project being funded by IMPACT Community Services to assess how to best meet the medical needs of the growing population in the Discovery Coast region.
The project aims to reduce the demand on emergency resources, support General Practice, expand allied and community health services and to provide residents with appropriate, affordable and accessible primary health care.
A Pop Up Care Clinic will operate in Agnes Water over the long weekend in a bid to reduce pressure on local emergency services and nearby hospital emergency departments.
IMPACT Community Health Service (ICHS) will operate the pop up clinic from their health precinct at Rafting Ground Road, with Dr Dani Buchanan and Nurses Pamela Mackie and Kirstin James, to treat non-life threatening medical emergencies.
ICHS Practice Manager Pamela Mackie said the Pop Up Care Clinic would provide Discovery Coast residents and visitors access to health care services without a 3-hour round trip to Gladstone or Bundaberg over the Easter period, 7 to 10 April inclusive.
“Residents and visitors to our beautiful region will be able to seek treatment for issues such as possible sprains or broken bones, cuts requiring stitches, minor ear or eye problems, burns and scalds and minor illnesses such as fever, infections and rashes,” she said.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to provide health care in our community during peak holiday period and public holidays when our GPs are closed.”
Ms Mackie stressed that the Pop Up Care Clinic would not be equipped to provide care for life threatening emergencies, and if life is in danger 000 should always be called without delay.
Those needing medical assistance will be able to drop into the pop up clinic without an appointment, and all services provided will be fully rebateable to Medicare card holders. Patients will be prioritised according to the urgency of their injury or illness. The clinic has been co-designed with input from the Country to Coast QLD (CCQ) PHN, local GPs, Queensland Ambulance Service, the community and Rotary, who have donated a portable ultrasound for use not only in the pop up clinic but also for locally based practitioners.
Dr Buchanan said that he was pleased to return to the community. “This pop up clinic will provide vital access to urgent care for our community, and whilst this is a one off clinic I am hopeful that we can deliver services such as this in the future.”
The ICHS Pop Up Care Clinic will operate at the IMPACT Community Health Precinct at 2 Rafting Ground Road, Agnes Water between 9am and 5pm.
You can read more about the ICHS Pop Up Care Clinic at https://impact.org.au/ichs-pop-up-urgent-care-clinic/
The IMPACT Community Health Service is committed to meeting the needs of the Discovery Coast community and providing accessible health care for all.
We provide a wide range of community health services to our region, including community nursing, allied health (podiatry and diabetes education), exercise programs and mental health services as well as podiatry, nursing and child health in outreach clinics across the Discovery Coast.
We are continuing to work alongside our consultant, Mark Donato, to assess how we can best meet the needs of our growing community. As part of this, we are currently exploring the possibility of offering a pop-up urgent care walk in clinic in Agnes Water during the Easter school holidays. We will keep you informed of our progress toward making this a reality.
Urgent care clinics provide care to patients who have an urgent medical (injury/illness) requirement that is not a life-threatening emergency, for example sprains, wounds, sutures, minor breaks and insect or animal bites. This model of care delivery relieves pressure on local GPs and offers another treatment option for Discovery Coast residents and visitors that can help them avoid a 3-hour round trip to the nearest emergency department. Any emergency or life threatening situations such as heart attacks/chest pain, collapse/seizure/stroke, severe abdominal pain, car accidents, head and neck injuries need to be managed by calling 000.
I'm also pleased to share that in the coming weeks we will be hosting our first Health Professionals Network meeting, which will be a wonderful opportunity to discuss the needs of our region and hear from guest speakers. Many local health practitioners work in isolated practice from their peers, and we believe this is an ideal way in which to introduce individual practitioners into a health practice circle.
If you are a current or retired medical / health professional who is visiting or living in the Discovery Coast region and you would like to attend, please contact ICHS on 4902 2000. Your input will be highly valued and your contribution to understanding the needs of our region is welcomed.
If you’re from the Discovery Coast, you’ll know the region is in dire need of additional healthcare. Here at IMPACT Community Services, we’re currently working on a detailed research project to establish what model of health care would best accommodate the needs of the region both now and into the future and we’d love your help.
If you’re a Discovery Coast local, we want to hear from you.
Tell us what local health services you think are lacking, how the community could better attract health professionals and what type of services you want to see available locally.
We want to work together as a community to discover the best possible solution.
Please take a few minutes to complete our community survey.
Historically, the region has been overlooked when it comes to health care investment.
Even before the pandemic and the mammoth local population increase that came with it, local businesses and services were finding it difficult to keep up with demand. Now, local healthcare services in particular are nearing capacity, with the closest hospitals a 1.5-hour drive away and the two local ambulance staff run off their feet.
IMPACT Community Health Services (ICHS) is at the heart of healthcare in Agnes Water. Just recently our ICHS Child Health Nurse was called to assist with a home-birth when a local resident went into labour and couldn’t make it to a hospital, due to flooding and weather conditions. Thankfully, together with the paramedics they were able to communicate with the hospital midwife via telehealth and the delivery went smoothly, with both mum and bub doing well.
As well as nursing services, ICHS also offers a range of allied health programs at our health precinct located at 2 Rafting Ground Road, Agnes Water. In addition, we offer our facility for use by other health providers to deliver their services locally. At present, the precinct is home to a GP and a visiting women’s health clinician, skin specialist, Audiologist and Wide Bay Hospital and Health Services which provide community mental health, physiotherapy and breast screening programs.
IMPACT has first-hand insights into how the growth in population has affected the local healthcare sector. We know that health related appointments are increasingly hard to come by, particularly for people who have relocated to the region and are required to register as new patients – with the majority of services offered via our facility unable to take on any more clients as accommodating current ones within a timely manner is already proving difficult.
These significant challenges are what led IMPACT to undertake this comprehensive research project that ultimately seeks to discover what model of healthcare will best accommodate the fast-growing region.
The project is currently in the information gathering phase, where we are talking with community, stakeholders and government to inform a future model of care to service our region.
Here at IMPACT Community Services (IMPACT) we are focused on three things: improving lives, creating diverse opportunities and working together. We believe this project is relevant to all three.
We are excited for the future and potential of the Discovery Coast region and are grateful for the community input and support.
Significant project updates will be provided on this webpage, as well as via our IMPACT Community Health Service Facebook page.
In addition to completing the community survey, please feel free to share any insights into how the significant growth in the population has impacted you and/or your organisation via email to ichs@impact.org.au or fill in the form below - all contributions will be de-identified and grouped into relevant categories.
Let’s work together to discover what healthcare services our Discovery Coast needs so residents have access to what they need, when they need it.
At IMPACT Community Health Service (ICHS) in the Discovery Coast we pride ourselves on being there for the community whenever and however we can – rain, hail or shine.
And the recent deluge has proven no exception.
ICHS Child Health Nurse Pip Burton recently assisted paramedics with a homebirth after a local resident went into labour during a flash flooding event.
Unable to get to Bundaberg or Gladstone or even home from the Queensland Ambulance Station due to road closures, the woman and her family ended up at her surf instructor’s home with paramedics and Pip to support her through the birth of her child.
Having worked in the region for 17 years, Pip said not once had she been called to assist with a homebirth before!
When Pip’s experiences with homebirths went from none to one, she was on a day off, moving house when the call came in from the ICHS practice manager.
Pip said the paramedics were already incredibly busy and wanted her present to support them, and the mother during and after the delivery.
When she arrived at the surf instructor’s house, it turned out that Pip knew or had some connection to nearly everyone in the room which helped ease any nerves.
She said through her work as a child health nurse and learning to surf she had previously met the owner of the home, the soon-to-be mother of two and one of the paramedics.
Pip said from when the baby was crowning to their arrival, “it all happened pretty quickly”, and both the mother and father were super calm throughout the delivery.
Thanks to technology, Pip and the paramedics were able to speak with a midwife via Facetime for the delivery of the placenta and check for blood loss.
Once the weather cleared a helicopter was able to get through and take a healthy mum and bub from the sports and recreation precinct to Gladstone Hospital.
Pip said the baby was born around 1.50pm and the helicopter landed close to 5pm.
Impact Community Health Service (ICHS) operates out of IMPACT Community Health Precinct, located at 2 Rafting Ground Road Agnes Water.
To get in contact with the ICHS team phone 4902 2000.
With the 2022 influenza season quickly approaching, vaccinating now means greater protection throughout the season.
IMPACT Community Health Service provides flu vaccinations under the National Immunisation Program to eligible people for free.
In this article, IMPACT’s Child Health Nurse and Nurse Immuniser Pip Burton answers some of the key questions around the vaccine.
There has been a reduced circulation of the influenza virus throughout the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. This could be related to an increase in hand hygiene and mask wearing, and reduced social contact, along with border restrictions.
However, as Australia opens its international borders and there is greater population movement, influenza may start to re-emerge and circulate widely in the country.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has advised the influenza vaccines can be co-administered with COVID-19 vaccines on the same day.
Influenza vaccines are provided free through the National Immunisation Program to the following people who have an increased risk of complications from influenza:
It is important that all eligible groups are vaccinated against influenza.
Those who are medically at risk such as people with cardiac disease, lung disease, immune compromised, chronic illnesses can be at a higher risk of contracting the flu or having severe symptoms.
Queensland Health recommends all individuals aged 6 months and over be vaccinated.
With the recent State Government announcement, all Queenslanders will be offered a free flu vaccination as the state faces a severe outbreak of Influenza A.
The vaccines will be available free from GPs and pharmacies from now until the end of June.
We will be offering this service as well by appointment.
Vaccinating from April provides protection before the peak season. The best protection from vaccination occurs in the first three to four months following vaccination.
It is important to remember it generally takes from 10 days to two weeks for a vaccine to work.
Those who qualify under the National Immunisation Program can phone 4902 2000 to book an appointment.
IMPACT Community Health Service (ICHS) operates out of IMPACT Community Health Precinct, located at 2 Rafting Ground Road Agnes Water. For more information about ICHS and the health support provided, visit here.