Gundy Medical Muster 2022 brings rural health to front and centre

Following The Gundy Medical Muster Rural health Event that took place 2 – 4 September 2022 in Queensland.

A cohort of medical practitioners and students converged on the rural Queensland town of Goondiwindi last weekend for the 8th biennial Goondiwindi Medical Muster.

Affectionately known as the Gundy Muster, the event continued its tradition of hearing directly from Specialists, GP’s, Allied health, Researchers, patients and carers while also drawing on ancient knowledge to address modern medical issues. This year marked the return to a face-to-face conference after the Virtual Medical Muster in 2020.

“The Goondiwindi Medical Muster provides the perfect environment & opportunity for general practitioners, registrars, allied health professionals, nurses and medical students to network, learn and connect through shared experiences,” said Gundy Medical Muster Chair Charles Mudimu.

“Our theme this year was “Back to the Future: Ancient Wisdoms, Modern Ways,” Charles said.

Presenters included experienced rural doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, specialist paediatricians, obstetricians and cardiologists, and rural health researchers as well as a Rural Health Policy Forum. RDAQ President Goondiwindi-based Rural Generalist Dr Matt Masel said it was an important time for the rural medical community to come together.

“There are a number of issues impacting rural medicine right now and events like the Gundy Muster are more important than ever because they bring the medical community together to support each other and share our concerns as well as our hopes and successes,” Dr Masel said.

The below provides some insights from the event:

Doctors call for new script on workforce challenge A rural health conference in Goondiwindi has heard from health workers about the barriers they face sustaining careers in rural and remote Queensland.

The experiences were aired at a forum on the last day of the Gundy Medical Muster, a threeday conference held every two years which attracts health workers from across southern Queensland.

Those attending heard that medical networks were stretched across the country, naming fatigue, burn-out among health workers and long wait times for patients as among the most severe stress points. Sunday’s forum included a panel of experts including Rural Doctors Association of Queensland president Dr Matt Masel, Goondiwindi Mayor Lawrence Springborg, West Moreton and Darling Downs Primary Health Network CEO Lucille Chalmers and Rural Doctors Association of Australia CEO Peta Rutherford who streamed live from Canberra.

The panel heard that improving training opportunities and offering assistance with housing would help recruit and retain medical staff as rents increase and accommodation tightens.

The forum of doctors, allied health professionals and medical students also canvassed offering incentives to overseas trained doctors (OTDs) to work remotely instead of forcing them to work in regions with punitive measures deployed through the Medicare system. Dr Masel said health services across Queensland were in need of new approaches, requiring innovation from key decision makers at every level. But he stressed that any changes to current workforce arrangements, such as more collaboration between allied health practitioners and doctors, should only be made if changes were in the interests of improving patient care and outcomes.

 “Collaborating with multi-disciplinary teams is not new, but how you do it is important,” he said. “We shouldn’t be looking at replacing roles to plug gaps or shortfalls in workforce. Rather than just trying to solve a workforce problem, we should be working together to complement and support each other so that patient care delivery is even better.” Goondiwindi Mayor Lawrence Springborg, whose community on the southern Darling Downs led the state in vaccination rates last year, said local government and community members had a vital role in creating environments that were attractive and supportive of new staff.

The policy forum on Sunday morning was one of the last sessions of the Gundy Medical Muster, which started on Friday and has attracted rural doctors mainly from across southern Queensland, but also further afield from central and north Queensland, as well as medical students from NSW.

Started 16 years ago, the biennial event has grown to one of the biggest rural medicine and health events on the Queensland calendar. This year delegates were rewarded with presentations from clinicians and health consumers on the latest in managing diabetes, autism, cardiac issues and obstetrics. Convenor Dr Charles Mudimu said the event was “extremely timely” given the last time colleagues met face-to-face was in 2018, before a virtual-only event was held in 2020. “The world of health care has changed immeasurably in the last four years, as it has for all people,” he said.

“As people who work on the frontline of healthcare, in the face of adversity, it’s important we share our knowledge and enjoy each other’s company. “It makes us better at what we do, which ultimately is about delivering better services for our communities.” Visit rdaq.com.au for more information. Media Contact: Bek Barr | RDAQ Communications Coordinator’ media@rdaq.com.au or 0404 836 207

Information Extracted from: https://www.rdaa.com.au/documents/item/2115

DNA Medical is an active supporter of Rural Doctors into these communities and are always keen to further assist them so if you are looking for more information about supporting these and similar communities then please reach out to Bek Barr RDAQ communications co-ordinator or for current gaps please get in touch by email me alan@dnarecruit.com.au or call me 02 9137 8090