Specialist Volunteer Program
Teams comprising Specialist surgeons, anaesthetists and theatre nurses travel to Katherine where they are based, volunteering their services free of charge for around a week. The teams generally spend 3-4 days conducting outpatient consultations in remote communities surrounding Katherine, including Lajamanu, Kalkarindji, Yarralin, Timber Creek, Borroloola, Minyerri, Beswick and Ngukurr and 1-2 days operating in the Katherine Hospital. Most trips to remote communities are by charter plane and this together with some other free time during the week gives team members a fantastic opportunity to view and explore the beautiful top end country while providing extremely valuable services to the people living in this remote region. See an article written for the Canberra Doctor here regarding a couple of our team visits.
The Specialist doctor membership of the John James Foundation and nursing staff from the Calvary John James Hospital are the primary sources of volunteers for the Program, however volunteering is open to all Australian registered health professionals. In fact we encourage applications from suitably qualified and motivated health professionals who would like to participate in our Program. As part of the Program, the role of the John James Foundation is to make the trip organsiation and logistics as seamless and easy as possible for all team members, as well as covering many of the direct costs of participation, including:
The John James Foundation also facilitates NT Medical Board registration and credentialing. All volunteers are subject to a police check.
The most in-need specialties in remote areas are: ENT, Dental, Ophthalmology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Anaesthetics and Orthopaedics and it is from these specialties that we will continue to draw our volunteers. In the future there is a prospect the program may be extended to cover Weipa and its surrounding remote communities in the Cape York region of Queensland and this will be an exciting expansion of the program. Please contact us for more information or to register your interest in volunteering for this extremely valuable service. |
After an extensive consultation process and with the assistance of Northern Territory Health, our Specialist Volunteer Program commenced in Katherine in the Northern Territory in May 2008. During that year seven teams including specialists in Orthopaedics, Ear,Nose & Throat, Dental and Obstetrics/Gynaecology travelled to Katherine and completed 300 patient consultations and 100 theatre procedures. The value of services provided by the volunteers was approximately $600,000. 
Katherine is about 300km south of Darwin along the Stuart Highway and is located on the Katherine River and adjacent to the beautiful Katherine Gorge. The population of Katherine is around 9,000 which includes the Tindal RAAF Base, just to the south of Katherine, which brings a population of 2,200 defence force members and their families to the area. The Katherine District covers an area roughly the size of Victoria, some 350,000sq km and has a total population of 20,000 people. The town population comprises 30% indigenous people and the remote population comprises around 95% indigenous people. 
A short cultural introduction program is provided to all volunteers prior to commencing to provide services, noting the high proportion of Indigenous patients that are treated. Respect for Indigenous people and their culture is extremely important to the successful delivery of services.