To provide additional specialist care to our more isolated patients, we also hold ‘Fly Around Clinics’ with a focus on men’s health, children’s safety, farm safety, women’s health and skin care. A team consisting of a GP, Child and Family Health Nurse, Women’s Health Nurse, podiatrist and dermatologist visit isolated stations and towns twice each year to provide the medical expertise lacking in these areas. Covering over one-twelfth of the continent in five days, our teams can treat over 650 patients at these ‘Fly Around’ clinics.
October 2006 Fly Around Clinic
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Our Fly Around Clinic focus in October was providing much needed dental services to the bush as well as offering general and specialist medical care. Travelling from Tibooburra to Reola, Naryilco, Durham Downs and Innamincka (and back to Tibooburra each night to sterilise the dental equipment!) our team covered 2,132 kms over four days.
Dentist Dr Lyn Mayne (with trainee dental assistant Amy Lynd) saw 49 patients, Dermatologist Dr Ian McCrossin saw 63 patients, and our Senior Medical Officer, Dr Mike Hill, conducted 50 patient consults, treating patients for a range of complaints from orthopaedic problems to gastroenteritis. We also conducted cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes screenings and picked up one patient with serious problems and two who required further testing.
Our teams set up in dining rooms, bedrooms and guest rooms at homesteads. Other than restraining the portable dental chair in the aircraft cabin, our greatest challenge was working out how to keep the flies out of our dental patients’ open mouths!
A second Fly Around Clinic was held in May 2007 and included a mental health worker, a GP, a Child and Family Health Nurse, an Ophthalmologist and an Optical Dispenser to fit and service glasses, frames and lenses.
The
team spent much of the May 2007 clinic stranded
in Wanaaring due to the weather conditions and
still treated 187 patients in five days.