At Walgett after spending yesterday with staff at Cunnamulla Hosptial and Lenny with seven AHWs at the Multi Purpose Centre there. Then the Frontier Services Bush Nursing Post at Bollon followed by several staff at the St George Hospital. Today it was Goondir AMS in St George, Mungindi and Collarenebri.

Adele Leeds the DON at Cunnamulla praised the ENs there as highly skilled and talked about how the nurses all have portfolios. Joined staff at morning tea and met with a paramedic there as well for the first time on the trip and spent time talking with him about the relevance of CRANA to people in his field. He mentioned that ambulance staff tend to be on the outer rather than being included with other health staff generally he felt.

Charmaine at Bollon is in a single nurse post and like a couple of other remote nurses we’ve met on this trip lives on a property some way out of town when not working.

St George Hospital and PHC unit are very well resourced. Again met with several of the staff who were saying the last twelve months the area has had good rain after about five years of drought. Needless to say this will’ve had all sorts of effects on the community.

Goondir Health Service were suffering with having many of their staff away with the flu.

Mungindi were really appreciative of our visit as it was said they don’t get a lot of visits. Border issues certainly come into play again here! One of the RNs Sarah also works at nearly Dirranbandi so was able to tell us a little about the facility there. We passed on CRANA packs for her to share with the staff there and also Goondiwindi where she has worked previously.

At Collarenebri (with it’s fancy pink kettle) sat with member Nicole Lawler firstly, followed by three agency nurses and then the two resident community nurses. With a population of about 550, relatively new Multi Purpose Centre and two doctors as elsewhere people here don’t necessarily see themselves as remote. With us elaborating on CRANA’s definition of geographically remote &/or professionally isolated and what the organisation has to offer, I think people there too may access aspects of CRANA’s programs more in the future.

Lots of native pine trees (presumably Callitris)on the roadside yesterday. Occurred to me also that we have seen very few reptiles in our travels. Birds: saw a group of White-winged Choughs today and still groups of Apostlebirds about too.

More cleared land today and evidence of cotton on the roadsides today.

We’ve now visited with 25 health facilities, done just under 4500kms and it’s only day 11!

Catch ya. Vicki G