About QIRCH

Queensland Integrated Refugee Community Health (QIRCH) Clinic provides an integrated, coordinated and culturally sensitive service to people of a refugee background settling into Australia, and those without access to Medicare.

QIRCH comprises of volunteer GPs, specialist consultants, a full-time clinic manager, clinical nurse and office administrator. The clinic has up to nine hours of community health nursing per week and is further supported by a Refugee Health Development Worker, employed by the Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma (QPASTT).

QIRCH is advised by a Partnership Advisory Group with representatives from QPASTT, Mater, St Vincent's & Holy Spirit Health, Queensland Health, South East Alliance of General Practice, Refugee Claimants Support Centre, Queensland Transcultural Mental Health Centre and the Multicultural Development Association.

QIRCH eligibility

Our services are provided to:

• refugee claimants
• temporary protection visa holders not successfully matched with a community GP
• refugees and humanitarian entrants with permanent residence, who have complex primary health care needs.

The Referral Process

QIRCH receives patient referrals from GPs, allied health professionals, community-based settlement services, government, non-government organisations, charities, self-referrals and referrals from concerned friends and loved ones.

When referring an individual to QIRCH, it is important to provide detailed background information outlining the potential patient’s "complex" health care needs. Also, if a referral is forwarded for a child, it is important a parent or guardian consents to the referral.

Not all referrals are accepted by QIRCH. For those referrals that are declined, QIRCH will contact the referrer and provide feedback.

View a copy of the QIRCH referral form

QIRCH volunteer GPs provide a bulk billing service and interpreter services are available.

Refugees and complex primary health care needs

The complexity of a patient’s health care requirements often stem from past persecutory experiences and/or their experiences ‘in flight’ from their country of origin. Refugees may be at greater risk of conditions associated with exposure to distressing and threatening situations, such as:

• torture and trauma—which impacts on both their physical and mental well-being, for example:
  
  • post traumatic stress disorder (i.e. nightmares, panic attacks, rapid heartbeat, sweating) depression and/or anxiety [see http://www.anxietyaustralia.com.au/anxiety_disorders/post_traumatic.shtml]
  • brain damage, irritable bowel symptoms, chronic pain or poor mobility, impaired hearing, sexual health issues, disfigurement [See ‘Common forms of torture and their physical sequelae’ (summarized from Victorian Foundation of Survivors of Torture, 2001, Promoting Refugee Health – A handbook for doctors and other health care providers caring for people from refugee backgrounds)]
• nutritional deficiencies
• lack of preventative health care
• FGM
• infectious diseases (Hep B, Malaria, Parasitic Diseases)
• chronic medical conditions and illnesses
• psychosocial deprivations
• digestive and gastro dysfunctions
• dislocation and separation from loved ones—chronic grief.

Refugees may also face greater challenges in accessing health care systems in Australia for reasons of language, culture, gender, financial constraint, unfamiliarity of the health care system, mistrust of authority figures and government bodies, social and geographic isolation and transport issues.

Clinic Activities

Patient Services

• initial clinical nurse and GP health assessment
• short-term medical treatment for complex health needs, including
  • parasitic infection treatment
  • provision of immunisation catch ups
  • coordinating and integrating patient referrals with relevant allied health and community support services
• transference of patient care to a local GP for ongoing health care and management.

Sector Services

• quarterly accredited GP education evenings
• quarterly health and culture information sessions for GPs, GP practice staff, allied health professionals, Mater staff and refugee settlement sector workers
• provision of refugee GP Packs, including information on: recommended patient testing for GPs; refugee health screening package; refugee immunisation catch-up schedules; information on Medicare Item 714; hints on booking free onsite interpreters for GPs; and practical considerations when working with refugees for GPs and their practice staff
• provision of education, supervision and mentorship for practitioners building an expertise in refugee health, including practice visits for nursing staff, GPs, allied health professionals and relevant community organisations.

Address

Ground Floor, Community Services Building
Mater Health Services
39 Annerley Road
Woolloongabba QLD 4102
Phone: +61 7 3163 2880
Fax: +61 7 3163 8455
Email: qirchadmin@mater.org.au

Opening Hours

Monday to Friday
9 am to 4 pm

See

See ‘Common forms of torture and their physical sequelae’(summarized from Victorian Foundation of Survivors of Torture, 2001, Promoting Refugee Health – A handbook for doctors and other health care providers caring for people from refugee backgrounds).