The Clutha district, a population of approximately 18,600 people, are gaining the advantage on healthcare thanks to the close bond between patients and surgeons, and the Mobile Surgical Unit – Te Waka Hauora that rolls in every five weeks to deliver specialised healthcare.
Balclutha, a predominantly large farming community, is one of 26 rural host sites for the mobile surgical unit; a site that like many others have residents who face long journeys to the nearest hospital. In this case, Dunedin Hospital and often takes up to an hour and a half of travel time.
Fortunately, residents in this rural multi-cultural community receive timely and professional care without the burden of travel, thanks to the surgical unit that parks up at Clutha Health First. Judy Nelson, outpatients/medical records/mobile surgical services co-ordinator at Clutha Health First, has been working with Mobile Surgical since its inception in 2002. With extensive knowledge of the mobile service provided, she manages patient bookings and is pivotal in liaising with patients and mobile surgical staff. Her responsibilities include scheduling appointments, co-ordinating medical staff and advocating for patients. This close relationship and collaboration between Clutha Health First and Mobile Surgical are essential in delivering the best healthcare to local residents. The seamless integration of services and personalised attention, referring to Judy’s deep understanding of the community’s unique healthcare requirements, significantly enhances the quality of healthcare provided, and allows Judy to better serve her local community.
“There is no local transport available and often some families struggle to find extended family support to help out in these situations. Patients are so grateful when they are phoned and offered their surgery in Balclutha on the surgical unit. You can instantly feel their sense of relief that it is done locally and in a facility that they know well at Clutha Health First,” Judy says.
“We are fortunate that a lot of our patients who have had their first specialist appointments with their consultant will have that same surgeon operate on them on the surgical unit. Most of these specialists travel down from Dunedin Hospital. This builds a unique bond between patient and consultant and is comforting for the patient on the day of surgery.”
This community is especially fortunate due to the extensive range of specialised procedures available. In the past 22 years, 1,489 patients have undergone various operations under local or general anaesthesia, including hernia repairs, dental treatments, gynaecology procedures, ENT, skin lesion removals, gastroscopies, and numerous orthopaedic procedures such as carpal tunnel releases, Dupuytren contractures and arthroscopies. The community feels secure and trusts the local healthcare system, knowing that having surgery close to home eliminates many additional stresses, such as travel time, childcare arrangements and travel costs.
“Mobile Surgical is an exceptional health provider and we are so fortunate that it provides great quality healthcare to the patients in the Clutha district and other rural remote locations throughout New Zealand. Without this service a lot of people are unable to get access to the services they need, as they simply cannot afford to travel to major cities.”
Judy recalls one of her most memorable experiences: A three year old child who was a recent immigrant to NZ from Ethiopia in Africa where there is unlimited access to sugary foods. “The child required dental treatment which were done on the surgical unit. The mum was keen to receive more education regarding dental care as she did not realise how sugary food, fizz, juices etc damage children’s teeth. She was so appreciative of the education (written and oral) that we gave her.”
This shows the importance of having knowledgeable staff like Judy is essential for community health. This proactive approach not only enables individuals to make informed choices for themselves and their whānau/family but also fosters a healthier and more informed community.
Mobile Surgical actively contributes to building a stronger health work force at a community level by providing local clinical staff with training onboard the surgical unit when it is in their area. By bringing the state-of-the-art mobile theatre directly to these communities, local health professionals can enhance their clinical skills and build their confidence. This exposure to working in a mobile theatre broadens their expertise and empowers them to deliver higher quality care within their communities – ultimately creating a sustainable impact at a local healthcare level.
“The Registered Nurses who work in the PACU area learn to use the electronic data systems used on the surgical unit. They have to be multi-skilled with patients ranging in age from preschool to elderly providing referrals to different services, wound care, post-op medications, delivering post -op education to families and so on. Having the surgical unit here in Balclutha has allowed the nurses to upskill, expand and develop a wider range of experience. For example, one of our nurses has a district nurse/oncology background and has recently learned some theatre skills by being able to work on the surgical unit. These are skills that she would not have otherwise been able to obtain.”
Judy is proud to be working alongside the Mobile Surgical team. “The Mobile Surgical team are an amazing team of highly professional and skilled people. I have been honoured to have worked as part of this wonderful team for the past 22 years, some of whom have been working since the very start as well. They are all extremely supportive and caring and their main focus is delivering the best quality of care to all their patients. The feedback from staff and patients alike has been extremely positive.”
“Often the patients have already had surgeries on the surgical unit and are well-versed with the proceedings. They know the staff and know they will receive the best possible care.”
The services delivered to this rural community doesn’t stop here. My Health Hub, an online education programme that is part of the Mobile Health Group umbrella, provides education to nurses, GPs and other health providers working in primary care, secondary care, residential care and community settings. My Health Hub provides Clutha Health First with regular Zoom meeting sessions. Some of the most recent topics includes Understanding the complexities of obesity, Delirium in the older adult, Parkinson’s disease, and Unpacking weight bias.
“The mobile health online education nicely complements our existing education programme, by providing interactive sessions on alternative topics of interest and relevance to our facility. Being rural the advantage is that our staff can easily attend the training presented by experts who we could not necessarily otherwise easily access. The training is either delivered onsite at our facility or alternatively staff can attend training from the comforts of their own home if they are not working on the day which is a huge advantage.” Jolene Ollerenshaw, education co-ordinator at Clutha Health First says.
“The range of topics provided by My Health Hub adds more diversity and depth to our existing programme of training. Staff enjoy hearing and learning from experts in their field and keeping up to date with evidence-based practice that is being implemented elsewhere within NZ; it is good to hear the experiences and service delivery in other facilities throughout NZ.”
Jolene adds that the regularity of sessions (once a month) enables staff to prepare in advance and ensure their attendance, and says the interactive nature and ability to ask presenters questions is highly valuable.
(Feature photo: Judy Nelson, outpatients/medical records/mobile surgical services co-ordinator, stands outside the Mobile Surgical Unit – Te Waka Hauora, parked outside Clutha Health First)
Second photo right: Judy (middle), poses for a photo with the clinical team onboard the surgical unit)