KEEP IN TOUCH
(07) 3105 7800
Turrbal and Jagera Country
Level 4, 348 Edward Street
Brisbane QLD 4000
The past few months have been filled with positive developments and we’re thrilled to share the latest highlights and updates with you in this issue of Health Works.
At the end of August, the HWQ Board met to review the agency’s operations and progress against the strategic plan. The directors reviewed the agency’s approach to risk and developed risk appetite statements to guide the management of HWQ’s strategic and operational activities.
HWQ’s annual Health Workforce Stakeholder Group (HWSG) Meeting took place in early September, providing a valuable opportunity to engage with member organisations and discuss key issues and solutions. The HWSG developed key messages for members to use in remote and rural health workforce planning and advocacy for improved policy and financial arrangements to support the creation of sustainable multidisciplinary primary health care teams. A full meeting summary is available on our website.
The 17th National Rural Health Conference was held in Perth last month and the conference theme Imagine, Inspire and Innovate was evident is a wide range of presentations and plenary sessions. It was clear to me that whilst the primary health care service and workforce challenges facing remote and rural communities remain intractable there are many innovations in listening to communities, service delivery improvements and advances in workforce attraction, recruitment and retention.
Professor Jenny May, National Rural Health Commissioner made her inaugural speech at the 17th National Rural Health Conference. We look forward to working with Professor May and her assistant commissioners to improve remote and rural healthcare.
The National Rural Workforce Agency Network quarterly meeting was held in Adelaide on 26 September to share insights into the current workforce challenges and opportunities to improve RWA workforce program design and delivery across Australia.
Further university placements took place in the Atherton region last month, as a result of the GROW Rural North Queensland program. Two OT students from the cohort completed a 10-week placement with The Whole Child and the experience was beneficial for both the students and the practice. You can read about it in this issue of Health Works, and the article is linked below.
The second event for the current GROW Rural South West Queensland cohort took place earlier this month, and the students were again inspired by the communities of Roma and St George. Their experience is shared below.
In addition to all of these events and networking opportunities taking place, we have been seeking the ideal individuals to be part of the health workforce solutions in South West Queensland and Gladstone in a Health Workforce Connector (HWC) role. You can read more about the Gladstone role below.
Lastly, I’d like to acknowledge and thank Sarah Venn, who after being a valuable part of the Agency for over twelve years, accepted an opportunity with the Office of Rural and Remote Health. We are grateful for Sarah’s contribution to HWQ and the remote and rural workforce and look forward to continuing our collaboration in the industry.
Chris Mitchell,
CEO, Health Workforce Queensland
