Annual report on the health and medical services of the state of Queensland.

  • Queensland. Department of Health
Date:
[1984]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Annual report on the health and medical services of the state of Queensland. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    82/156 (page 74)
    of service derives from its leadership. The development of community health nursing in Queensland to its present stage has only been possible because of the quality of the leadership given by Glenda McChesney-Clark. SOCIAL WORK During the past year, 55 social worker positions have been occupied in community health and community home care centres. Particular difficulties, however, continue to exist in filling positions which become vacant in country areas. The vacancies are not attracting experienced staff due to two main problems: professional isolation and where new graduates are concerned, the lack of senior supervision; and social isolation and the difficulty in secur¬ ing suitable accommodation. The most notable change in the social work com¬ ponent of the service was the retirement in May, 1984, of Miss Eileen Dobbyn. Miss Dobbyn was the first appointee to the position of Senior Social Worker and pioneered the development of many initiatives in the service. Mrs Roslyn Eyles, Senior Social Worker, Gold Coast, has been seconded to act in the position. The Senior Social Worker based in Brisbane continues to assume supervisory responsibility for the metropolitan, near metropolitan and North Coast centres, while the Act¬ ing Senior Social Worker, Gold Coast, supervises South- East Queensland centres’ staff and the Senior Social Worker in Townsville co-ordinates the work of social workers in that city as well as in Cairns, Charters Towers and Bowen. The focus of work has varied from centre to centre, dependent on local demands and identified needs; but in general, all age groups have been served, including a wide range of clients with every variety of health or social dis¬ ability. The present socio-economic climate has continued to influence the lives of people and in most centres, par¬ ticularly those in areas with a predominantly young popu¬ lation, the demand for services continues to increase. Prob¬ lems relating to, or resulting from, unemployment and less stable family situations are prevalent, particularly where they concern single-parent families and adolescents. Work with the elderly continues to be a significant part of most caseloads as does the follow-up and support in the com¬ munity of discharged psychiatric patients. Many factors contribute to the pressure of work on community health staff, not the least of which is the fact that other departments directly concerned in the welfare field have been able to define strict boundaries for the ac¬ ceptance of referrals, while community health accepts the broad and sometimes undefined range of problems. Staff, while not refusing referrals, now find they need to assess more carefully an initial contact and where possible, estab¬ lish priorities for service. The situation is even more acute in country areas, where some welfare agencies only pro¬ vide visiting monthly consultations, leaving our staff to monitor and provide on-going service delivery. Wherever practicable, social workers have contrib¬ uted towards the development of groups for clients with specific problems, as well as providing professional sup¬ port and consultations to community groups and organiz¬ ations when necessary. The social workers continue to provide a support and counselling service to parents who have lost a baby through Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Liaison is main¬ tained with the Department’s pathologist and laboratory staff in the immediate notification of cases throughout the State. A most satisfactory liaison and co-operation con¬ tinues also to exist with police officers, ambulance bearers and maternal and child health nurses. The approved quarterly regional social work meetings for north and south metropolitan areas, the North Coast and Toowoomba have continued throughout the year and have proved most valuable. The meetings provide training and education opportunities for both new and established staff, reduce the feeling of isolation experienced by work¬ ers, especially in more isolated areas and have created a greater sense of identity with the Division. A number of social workers are taking advantage of the Study and Research Assistance Scheme to acquire further formal qualifications. While most workers do at¬ tend in their own time work-related seminars, conferences and workshops, appreciation is expressed to the Depart¬ ment for the recognition that professional knowledge and skills need to be continually updated and to that end, for approval for staff to attend a broad variety of appropriate courses and workshops. Supervised training placements have again been of¬ fered by experienced social workers in a number of centres to social work and social welfare students from Queens¬ land and James Cook Universities and from Colleges of Ad¬ vanced Education. A number of secondary school students have also undertaken short-term work experience place¬ ments in the centres. The Senior Social Worker, Head Office, continues to carry advisory and consultative responsibility for Minis¬ terial and Departmental referrals, recommendations in re¬ lation to staff establishments and appointments in hospital social work departments, liaison and consultation with social workers in country hospitals and consultation with Directors of Divisions not employing social workers. The Senior Social Worker is a Departmental representative on the University Social Work Faculty Board and the Advisory Committee of the North Brisbane College of Advanced Education and an executive member of the Red Cross Hos¬ pital Services Committee. Senior social worker positions in the Division are on the establishment at:— Head Office (Roslyn Eyles [acting]); Metropolitan and near North Coast (Barbara Richardson); Gold Coast (Margaret Byrne [acting]) and Townsville (Hilary Dickinson). NURSING STAFFING The nursing staff establishment is 176, of which 170 positions were filled at 30th June. It is pleasing that ap¬ pointments were made at three locations where provision existed for senior community health nurse positions. In July, 1983, the position of Nurse Educator with the Div¬ ision was transferred to Nursing Services. EDUCATION Student Nurses Many' requests are received for placement of students of various courses, the majority of which are nursing courses. This situation applies throughout the State in towns where nurse training programmes are carried out at hospitals and where there is also a community health ser¬ vices centre. The introduction of the 1200-hour curricu¬ lum for student nurses in hospitals has resulted in more time being allocated to education in community practice. Community work experience has been given to nurse students from basic and post-basic nurse education pro¬ grammes, for varying periods. Continuing Education Following appointment to the Division a community health nurse undertakes an orientation in-service course. Six nurses participated in this course during the year. Whilst there is not a formal programme for continuing education to follow the initial in-service programme, sev¬ eral nurses have applied for and been given approval to