Nine individuals and 11 primary healthcare teams have been named as “champions” of the national patient insurance system.
A group of GPs, allied health workers, practice managers and clinics have been awarded the title of Medicare Champions in Canberra tonight as part of the first Stronger Medicare Awards.
The awards were a one-off initiative from Health Minister Mark Butler to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Medicare. There were 37 finalists in the running, with 20 winners overall.
“Our nation is so privileged to have so many selfless, dedicated, caring and innovative health care workers, who turn up every day to keep their patients healthy and out of hospitals,” Mr Butler said.
“We need more of these professionals and that is why a new advertising campaign is planned for early 2025, to help raise the profile of working in primary care and attract more people to the sector.
“It seems incredible to me that there has never been a primary care workforce campaign, considering how important this sector is.”
That campaign is being developed now, with a focus on raising the profile of general practice, as well as primary care nurses, midwives and other allied healthcare workers.
Among the nine individual award winners were five GPs: Dr Lorraine Anderson, Dr Miranda Hann, Dr Dong Hua, Dr Lester Mascarenhas and Dr Andrew Palfreman.
A rural and remote general practitioner, Dr Lorraine Anderson is the medical director at Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services in Western Australia, where she oversees eight separate primary health clinics.
She was the first Aboriginal person to be appointed to a national health technology advisory committee, and was recognised for her leadership in delivering quality healthcare to Indigenous communities.
Tasmanian GP Dr Miranda Hann was named a Medicare Champion for her work providing trauma-informed care for Hobart’s LGBTQIA+ community.
“I am deeply grateful to be creating safe healthcare spaces and networks in a state that has progressed from the worst to best government policies for LGBTQIA+ people over the last 30 years, and it is a privilege to watch my patients not only survive but thrive through their life journeys,” she said.
Dr Hann was the first GP on the island to offer informed consent for patients accessing gender-affirming hormones and has since built a network of local specialists, allied health providers, community organisations and mental health
GP winner number three is western Sydney’s Dr Dong Hua, whose Fairfield clinic sits at the centre of one of the most culturally diverse communities in the country.
Dr Hua and his multidisciplinary team coordinate diabetes case conferencing and free metabolic clinics where patients can access endocrinologists and weight-loss programs.
Dr Lester Mascarenhas was recognised for his decade of work with the refugee and asylum seeker community, including opening Utopia Refugee Health in Victoria in 2019.
“Utopia Refugee Health has been a labour of love for me,” he said.
“Setting up and running this charitable service has enabled us to deliver low-cost healthcare to society’s most vulnerable.
“I hope the recognition of our efforts as a finalist in the Stronger Medicare Awards shortlist encourages the public to support our charity.”
Canberra GP Dr Andrew Palfreman was the fifth and final GP Medicare Champion and received the prize in recognition of his commitment to multidisciplinary team care and care to vulnerable communities.
Over the pandemic, Dr Palfreman set up a temporary clinic in the practice car park where he treated infectious patients.
Other GPs who were nominated for a Strengthening Medicare award included Raymond Terrace Family Practice GP Dr Chris Boyle, Bidwill Family Practice GP Dr Siow Liew, Mildura GP Dr Nalin Fonseka, Better Health Network GP Dr Geetha Venkatram and Coochiemudlo GP Dr John Buckley.
On the clinic and organisational side, seven of the 11 awardees were general practices.
From Victoria, the Cabrini Asylum Seeker and Refugee Health Hub was recognised for providing quality care to a vulnerable population at no out-of-pocket cost.
It works alongside legal, family violence, housing, food, sport and recreation support services to care for its patients, who hail from up to 45 different countries.
Inala Primary Care, perhaps best known on the national stage as the birthplace of practice software Cubiko, was named a Medicare Champion for its work developing innovative models of care while serving a diverse and vulnerable community.
“While an award will not make up for the personal and financial sacrifices we have made to offer care to those others ignore, we do hope that in being a finalist the models of care we have created are noticed by many and adopted,” Inala Primary Care CEO Tracey Johnson said.
“We all need to step up and meet the challenges of an increasingly older and more complex patient population.
“Being imitated would be the ultimate recognition.”
Perth’s Homeless Healthcare Medical Respite Centre was recognised as a first-of-its-kind service that gives people experiencing homelessness somewhere to recover after leaving hospital and assistance in managing planned medical procedures.
The multidisciplinary team consists of GPs, nurses, nurse practitioners and other social services, and provides everything from wound management to alcohol and other drug detox.
Also in WA, Pramana Medical Centre in Gosnells was named a Medicare Champion for its wraparound care, which includes weekly home visit clinics.
The team, made up of nurses, GPs and social workers, provide culturally sensitive and trauma-informed care to patients from vulnerable communities who may not have engaged with health services for some time.
The team at Next Practice Deakin in Canberra received a Strengthening Medicare award for its model of multidisciplinary teams that form integrated practice units providing individualised care.
Alongside GPs, nurses, nurse practitioners, patient advocates, social workers, diabetes educators and an oral hygienist, practice pharmacist, dietitian, exercise physiologist, geriatrician and physiotherapist, the clinic also employs three interstate nurse practitioners who provide virtual care.
Volunteer-run GP outreach service Street Side Medics, which operates in Sydney, Melbourne and Wollongong, was recognised for its approach to reaching homeless and vulnerable communities through collaboration with charities and shelters.
“Street Side Medics is deeply honoured to be recognised for our efforts in supporting vulnerable populations within our communities, many of whom often lack access to essential health services and assistance,” a spokesman for the nonprofit said.
“The impact we make is only possible thanks to the dedication and generosity of our 250 remarkable healthcare volunteers, whose tireless work brings our mission to life.”
The final award went to the Swift Street Medical Centre antenatal clinic in NSW, which has cared for more than 450 women over the last 12 months.
It combines GP and midwifery care across the local hospital, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations and Primary Health Network.
Other GP-led services that made the shortlist included Springs Medical in Daylesford, WRAD Health’s opioid dependence program in Warrnambool and Mater Integrated Refugee Health Service in Brisbane.
The full list of winners is as follows:
- Dr Mohammed Al Ebrahimi, Optometrist, People First Healthcare, VIC
- Dr Lorraine Anderson, GP and Medical Director, Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services, WA
- Kerrie Duggan, Nurse Practitioner, Cygnet Family Practice, TAS
- Dr Miranda Hann, GP, Ochre Health, TAS
- Dr Dong Hua, GP, Kenyon Street Medical Centre, NSW
- Dr Lester Mascarenhas, GP, Utopia Refugee Health, VIC
- Dr Andrew Palfreman, GP, Watson General Practice, ACT
- Laura Stewart, pharmacist, Pharmacy 777, WA
- Selin Tekirdag, practice nurse manager and chronic disease nurse manager, Fairfield Chase Medical and Dental Centre, NSW
- Cabrini Asylum Seeker and Refugee Health Hub, VIC
- GROW Clinical Psychology, VIC
- Inala Primary Care, QLD
- Mallee Border Health Centre, SA
- Medical Respite Centre (Homeless Healthcare), WA
- Midwifery Group Practice (Top End Health Service), NT
- Mission Health, TAS
- Next Practice Canberra, ACT
- Pramana Medical Centre, WA
- Antenatal Clinic (Swift Street Medical Centre), NSW
- Street Side Medics, NSW and VIC
