Community outreach clinic providing culturally safe respiratory care closer to home

A community outreach clinic is providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in the Moreton Bay region with access to more culturally safe specialist respiratory care closer to home.

The Urban Respiratory Outreach Clinic (UROC), a partnership between Metro North Health and the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health, provides patients with a range of respiratory care services traditionally provided in a hospital outpatient setting.

Patients referred to the service are seen by a specialist respiratory team consisting of a respiratory consultant and a respiratory scientist, with lung function testing services available.

UROC, which is offered through the Moreton Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service’s Morayfield and Margate clinics, was established to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients to receive care in an environment that meets their specific cultural needs.

Studies have found that mainstream facilities that are not culturally appropriate are less likely to be accessed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people due to fear of discrimination, racism, and cultural exclusion.

Executive Director of the Metro North Health Heart and Lung Stream Professor Peter Hopkins said that UROC provides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with access to specialist care in a more culturally sensitive environment closer to where they live.

“We see many patients with general and complex respiratory symptoms and conditions who have been reluctant or anxious to visit their local hospital for treatment because they don’t feel comfortable,” Prof Hopkins said.

“This reluctance can result in a delay in diagnosis and treatment, which increases the risks of severe complications or death. There is also a risk of disengagement from health services with increasing time on hospital waitlists.

“The new UROC model of care provides Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients with the option to receive expert care in a more culturally welcoming setting away from hospital.”

Brighton mother of seven Joyce Walker was first referred to UROC after experiencing many months of ongoing respiratory symptoms following COVID-19.

“I thought I would gradually get over COVID, but I felt it was taking so long to get better, I was getting short of breath,” Joyce said.

“My mother had COPD and I have a family history of heart problems, so I decided I should get checked.”

Joyce was referred by her GP to the UROC team at Margate who arranged for her to undergo cardiac imaging which revealed the possibility of blockage of critical arteries to the heart muscle.

As a result of the diagnostic test, Joyce was able to be referred quickly to TPCH to undergo a coronary angiogram.

“I’m so grateful to have some proper answers to my health problems. If I hadn’t seen Dr Hopkins and the team, I would have probably ended up with a much worse condition,” Joyce said.

“Dr Hopkins and the team put me at ease – it was good knowing I got the care I needed rather than worrying about what could happen if I didn’t.”

Professor Hopkins said the vision with UROC is that it will encourage more patients like Joyce to access the care they need to help improve their long-term health outcomes and quality of life.

Since the Clinic commenced in late 2022, it has seen more than 90 patients.