Health professionals from around the country have responded to the call for 'helping hands for Aboriginal health' to deliver the remaining child health checks and follow-up treatments across the Territory.
DHCS Director of Remote Health Services Noelene Swanson said there had been a solid response to the first call for recruits with more than 100 health professionals, including almost 60 nurses, 10 doctors, dentists and dental therapists expressing an interest to work short-term on the project.
The second round of advertising will occur this weekend, again targeting doctors, nurses, audiologists, dentists and primary health carers.
Phase 2 of the Australian Government Intervention is expected to commence next week with temporary recruits to form mobile health teams to complete up to 7500 child health checks across more than 50 communities, beginning in Central Australia and Barkly and deliver follow-up treatments where required .
The first phase of the Australian Government Intervention delivered more than 6000 health checks resulting in more than 4000 referrals for a range of services including dental, hearing, paediatric and primary health care services.
The mobile health teams will work with existing remote health centre staff and surgical teams will be deployed to hospital bases to address surgical and complex needs.
Alice Springs Hospital will be the primary focus for delivering follow-up surgeries with five ENT surgery blitzes planned to occur between mid-April to early July. The AGI partnership will provide the funding to fast-track follow-up services and other specialist procedures through a number of 'blitzes'.
Ms Swanson said: "We welcome and thank those health professionals around the country who have come forward to be part of a unique project. We hope that more health professionals particularly doctors, nurses and dentists will consider participating, either in the short or medium term.
"A number of surgical staff had already been identified and had committed to the project, with the first of those and the first surgical teams will to arrive in Alice Springs in April.
"This is a unique and exciting project and provides medical staff from other jurisdictions a taste of remote health care delivery and the unique and challenging aspects to Aboriginal health."
Media contact: Michelle Foster 8922 8833 or 0419 818 414.
Release Date: 20 March 2008
