Cardiac program reaches remote communities

When it comes to delivering care, Metro North Hospital and Health Service (MNHHS) goes the extra mile.

Metro North’s Indigenous Cardiac Outreach Program has been delivering services to communities like Doomadgee, Karumba and others in country Queensland for more than 10 years.

Operating out of The Prince Charles Hospital , and working in partnership with CheckUP, the team has visited Doomadgee four times this financial year and Karumba once. It has also been to Mornington Island.

The team recently visited Winton, Longreach, Barcaldine, Isisford and Tambo in the Central West.

Indigenous Cardiac Outreach State Manager Rohan Corpus said while the service targeted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, it could also see non-Indigenous patients in remote areas where there were no other options.

So far this financial year, the team already has delivered more than 700 occasions of services to patients in country areas.

Each outreach team comprises a specialist cardiologist, cardiac scientists, sonographer, nurses and health workers.

As well as seeing the cardiologist for consultation, review or follow-up; patients attending the outreach clinics are able to have specialised tests like echocardiograms and electrocardiograms.

An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a simple test which measures the electrical pulses across your body.

An echocardiogram (ECHO) is an ultrasound that takes pictures of the muscle, tissue, chambers and blood flow of your heart. This examination gives the cardiologist a better understanding of how your heart is working.

The team also is able to do a variety of on-the-spot blood tests, the results of which are available immediately, without having to send them away to a laboratory for analysis.

If necessary, patients can be referred to a major hospital for further treatment.