Joint partnership promises improved services

Biripi welcomes expansion of Manning Paediatricians’ boundary of care

Since their arrivals last year, Taree’s new, locally resident Paediatricians - Dr Maureen van Rossum du Chattel and Dr Dylan Wesley - have settled well in to their roles, joining forces with Dr Tom Campbell to further enhance delivery of quality child health services at Manning Rural Referral Hospital.

In keeping with the philosophy of Kaleidoscope* to deliver care to all children closest to where they live, Drs du Chattel and Wesley have recently extended their roles beyond the Manning Rural Referral Hospital.

Maureen and Dylan have welcomed the opportunity to expand their boundaries of care to support the work of Biripi Aboriginal Corporation Medical Centre by conducting monthly clinics at Purfleet and Tobwabba. These clinics further complement a service provided at Tobwabba every three months by Kaleidoscope’s Associate Professor John Stuart.

“When the Biripi Aboriginal Corporation Medical Centre responded to an offer for our new Paediatricians to conduct clinics through the Aboriginal Medical Centre, it provided a much welcomed opportunity to enhance services that will meet a very real need in our community,” said Mr Tim Mooney, General Manager of Manning Rural Referral Hospital.

Mr Ray Matthews, Chief Executive Officer of Biripi Aboriginal Corporation Medical Centre, sees the collaboration with Manning Rural Referral Hospital as a very good opportunity for indigenous people to gain access to experts in a familiar, non-threatening environment.

“This is an invaluable service, particularly for child health where our focus is on relieving chronic disease at an early age, for example, tackling problems associated with nutrition,” Mr Matthews said.

“Offering these monthly clinics complements the generic services provided by the Biripi Aboriginal Corporation Medical Centre by offering access to specialised care which we are not able to provide,” he said.

In welcoming both Dylan and Maureen to Biripi, Mr Matthews reinforced that now is an opportune time for parents to acknowledge that there are things that can be done, things that may assist better health outcomes for their children.

Biripi Aboriginal Corporation Medical Centre values the commitment of the Paediatricians to conduct clinics every four weeks, and in time, would welcome a further expansion of clinic days.

The first clinic at Tobwabba was conducted by Dr Wesley who was welcomed by the local community on 6 February. Dr du Chattel conducted her first clinic at Purfleet on 20 February.

“Maureen and I are delighted to be working with Biripi’s well established health service, to offer a specialised level of care and support to help meet the needs of children in our community,” said Dr Dylan Wesley.

“We look forward to meeting many new families who may like to visit us at Tobwabba and Purfleet. We’re there to help tailor support to meet individual health care needs and are happy to answer any questions from children young people and their families,” said Maureen.

• Kaleidoscope is Hunter New England Health’s umbrella organisation linking the region’s public health services for children, young people and families.

Media inquiries:
Colleen Crowe 02 4921 4492, 0408 668976 (ref: HNE-1311)