Shared Medical Appointments Scoop the Northern Territory Health Awards
By A/Prof. John Stevens FASLM
Last August the Compass 2024 conference was held in Darwin. The Compass conference is an initiative of the Northern Territory Primary Health Network (NTPHN). With over 500 delegates it is the largest primary care gathering in the NT. It includes scientific papers, workshops and networking opportunities.
John Stevens and Bob Morgan from ASLM have been working with the NTPHN leading a proof of concept project and developing shared medical appointments (SMAs) among three of the fourteen Northern Territory Aboriginal Community Control Health Organisations (ACCHOs).
Together with Ms Kellie Kerin from AMSANT John and Uncle Bob have been developing small local SMA facilitation teams within the ACCHOs, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (Congress, Alice Springs), Danila Dilba (Darwin) and Miwatj Aboriginal Health Corporation (Miwatj, Eastern Arnhem Land).
These SMA teams came together at the Compass conference to tell their stories to a large enthusiastic audience about how the SMA model of care is being integrated into their health services, empowering their Aboriginal communities and health care providers.
The SMA Proof of Concept project has been funded by the Northern Territory Primary Network (NTPHN – with acknowledgments to Project Manager, Ms Di Bates and former NTPHN employee Mr Alan Kennedy) and will be completed in July 2025 unless further funding can be found to build capacity beyond the three participating ACCHOs.
What is clear from community feedback so far is that, ‘SMAs are how Aboriginal people have aways done health care’ ,… ‘and so now we are keen to re-engage with services that we had been avoiding’. Clinicians report SMAs breathing new life into careers that had become stale by the deep frustration of not being able to make a significant difference to the health of their patients.
The Compass conference also hosted the Northern Territory Heath Worker Awards night.
Leonie Wunungmurra from Miwatj was a Finalist for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner/Worker of the Year, for her work on the SMA project. The Miwatj SMA local Team of Leonie Wunungmurra, Tristen Muriyarryn and Matt Dowling were Finalists for Primary Healthcare Team of the Year for their work with the SMA project – Medical Dhawu Dhawu – Gapuwiyak, Mitwaj Health, and Dr Penny Ramsay received the award for Northern Territory, General Practitioner of the Year for her work on the SMA project.
In addition, Dr Monica Theron from Congress (ASLM Fellow and winner of the Lifestyle Medicine Changemaker 2024) was also a finalist in the NT General Practitioner of the year for her work in the SMA project at Congress in Alice Springs.
Some of the activity by the ASLM team of Uncle Bob and John, with Kellie Kerin from ASMANT In the last 12 months includes:
- 1000+ people we had conversations with about SMAs in the Northern Territory
- 50 formal presentations to NT organisations, communities and people
- 750 people oriented to SMA in their NT health service or community
- 240 clinicians and health workers train as facilitators in SMA
- 65 Aboriginal Health workers consulted and/or trained in SMA delivery
- 30+ Aboriginal community consultations
- 2 National conference presentations.
And in the last 6 months
- 50+ SMAs have been held in the Northern Territory.
The NTPHN and ASLM collaboration in empowering Aboriginal communities with Shared Medical Appointments is on track to make a difference in the Northern Territory.
