PATIENT-PARAMEDIC TRUST CAN HELP FREE UP EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS
Dr Robbie King,
Senior Advanced Care Paramedic/Community Paramedic,
Sunshine Coast District, Birtinya Station, Queensland Ambulance Service &
Lecturer & Researcher (Paramedicine), Australian Catholic University (ACU)
PEOPLE IN HEALTH CARE SEGMENT
Filmed in Brisbane, Queensland | December 2024
Dr. Robbie King is a Senior Advanced Care Paramedic with the Queensland Ambulance Service and a community paramedic. He is also a lecturer at the Australian Catholic University in Brisbane. After studying paramedicine and working as a student paramedic since 2009, he recognised that most patients attended by ambulance services did not require emergency interventions.
About a decade ago, Queensland Ambulance implemented the Local Area Assessment and Referral Unit, a community paramedic program. In his role at Queensland Ambulance Service, Dr. King has spent the past six years focusing on patients who may not need traditional emergency responses. His work involves performing enhanced assessments to understand patients’ psychosocial needs and determining appropriate healthcare pathways.
Dr. King’s PhD research consisted of quantitative and qualitative studies. The quantitative study analysed data from 1.5 million people who contacted New South Wales Ambulance Service, revealing that 12.6% were not transported to emergency departments. Notably, around 43% received emergency responses, yet many were found simply in need of reassurance.
The qualitative study involved interviews with 21 subjects from various regions, leading to the development of a theory centred on self-efficacy. The findings indicated that patients often experienced a loss of independence but gained self-reliance and confidence through compassionate, competent care from paramedics, allowing them to better manage their circumstances after the paramedics left.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Dr Robbie King earlier this year on his findings and what it could mean for paramedicine policy, education and practice.
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Improving access to osteopathic services and integrated care models
The Chief Executive Officer of Osteopathy Australia, Antony Nicholas spoke with Australian Health Journal about:
– Involvement in the Strengthening Medicare Task Force
– The unique skills osteopaths have that can address the chronic disease burden
– Current workforce issues around osteopaths and if enough are coming through via student placements
– How uploading data to My Health Record by osteopaths could assist team-based care of patients
– How the value of osteopaths in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs) could be better understood and better access for residents
– The recommendations around aged care access to allied health services, including osteopathy
– The recommendations around consumer access to osteopaths and GP referrals
– Other osteopathy recommendations in the upcoming Federal BudgetIn the lead up to the Australian Federal Budget in May 2023, Australian Health Journal reached out to peak health industry bodies to hear about their priorities, either noted in pre-budget submissions lodged with Federal Government in January 2023 or in recent forums such as the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
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Improved treatment in advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma
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Australian Health Journal spoke with Professor Mark Hertzberg in his role in the ALLG HD10 Clinical Trial and as a former Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Australasian Leukaemia & Lymphoma Group (ALLG), an organisation involved in improving the treatments and lives of blood cancer patients.
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30 years on, Viertel Foundation legacy continues
One of Australia’s largest charitable foundations, the Sylvia and Charles Viertel Charitable Foundation, is celebrating three decades of transforming Australian healthcare – with more than $90 million invested in medical research and a legacy of breakthroughs that are saving lives. Viertel Fellowships support some of Australia’s best and brightest researchers and clinicians, with 70 Fellowships awarded to date.
