Community volunteers in Mareeba, Far North Queensland, are urging Federal and Queensland health authorities to recognise and invest in the homegrown healthcare solutions they've built from the ground up to meet local needs. They are calling for urgent infrastructure funding to expand services and keep pace with rising demand.
Mareeba and Communities Family Healthcare (MCFH), a community-owned and operated primary healthcare organisation, is leading the first trial of the National Rural Health Alliance's innovative multidisciplinary model of care - the PRIM-HS (Primary care Rural Integrated Multidisciplinary Health Services). Established in 2020 as a social enterprise without any Federal or state funding, MCFH stepped in to take over a health clinic about to be lost to the community due to the retirement of its GP.
"It's because we care so deeply about our community that we didn't wait for government support to start this service," said MCFH Chair Ross Cardillo. "Mareeba has a growing and ageing population and rising rates of chronic disease, but has little support like in the city. We urgently need infrastructure funding to expand our services, especially into Dimbulah."
Like many rural regions, the Mareeba Shire faces ongoing challenges attracting and retaining health professionals. To address this, MCFH recently opened an outreach clinic in nearby Mutchilba, now serving around 1,000 residents—many of whom are the elderly and have had little access to care. However, the clinic is struggling to meet demand and is urgently seeking support for infrastructure upgrades and to increase its days of operation. Plans are underway to open a second outreach clinic in Dimbulah, but without dedicated infrastructure funding, the expansion is at risk of stalling.
Federal health authorities have now begun to take notice of the positive community action in Mareeba. The National Rural Health Commissioner, Professor Jenny May and Department of Health, Ageing and Disability officials met the community today to hear about their deadly innovative approach.
NRHA Chief Executive Susi Tegen, who attended this meeting, said the Mareeba community exemplifies what grassroots, community-led solutions and care look like. "We're seeing an inspiring level of passion and commitment in Mareeba. The Federal Government funded innovative models of care trial of our multidisciplinary model is progressing well and continues to receive positive feedback from the community," Ms Tegen said.
"This is a population of over 22,000 people contributing significantly to Queensland's and the nation's economy through agriculture—particularly horticulture, livestock, fruit and sugarcane—as well as tourism. Yet, residents experience greater socio-economic disadvantage and reduced access to healthcare compared to much of the state. Waiting times for GPs and specialist services are unacceptably long, and allied health is limited. The clinicians on the ground are incredibly committed, but over-stretched. The NRHA strongly supports MCFH's call for infrastructure funding to expand local services," Ms Tegen added.
Mr Cardillo said: "We need more outreach clinics across the shire. I still don't understand why Queensland Health hasn't engaged with us and why state and federal Governments are not working together to support communities that are solving issues which governments are supposed to be delivering on. We believe we're a model of healthcare that should be supported and replicated, not overlooked."
About us:
The National Rural Health Alliance (the Alliance) comprises 54 national organisations committed to improving the health and wellbeing of the over 7 million people in rural and remote Australia. Our diverse membership includes representation from health professional organisations, health service providers, health educators, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector and students.
