Osborne Park Rotary, together with Karrinyup and Scarborough Rotary Clubs have arranged with Black Swan Health to provide a Steet Doctor service in Marrabooka every week for the next three years. The service will be funded jointly by the Rotary Clubs.
The service will be provided by Black Swan Health, who have been delivering the Street Doctor service for 20 years, starting in Fremantle, with several clinics in the southern Perth suburbs. There are no clinics north of the river, this will be the first.The Black Swan Health Street Doctor currently operates 14 clinics per week south of the river, each running for 3 hours. They maintain a regular schedule so that attendees know when and where to find them. Word of mouth is used as the main marketing medium, many repeat clients use this as their regular medical service.
Black Swan Health’s CEO, Terina Grace stated; ”Our Street Doctor Service, reached a significant milestone this month with the opening of its inaugural northern metropolitan clinic in Mirrabooka. This expansion marks a continuation of the organisation's commitment to providing accessible, bulk-billed healthcare to people most in need and builds upon the legacy of its Freo Street Doctor Service, which has provided medical services in the Fremantle region for two decades”.
Black Swan Health provides a fully accredited General Practice medical service and attends to a broad range of health issues. At least 25 % of the clients are Aboriginal people. A significant majority of clients have complex mental health conditions. A 24 % increase in attendances were seen last financial year as there are fewer bulk billing clinics available in mainstream general practice in Perth. Many of the attendees are homeless but they can also see those on low incomes. Their clients would normally attend an emergency department if this service was not available. This Street Doctor Service is therefore more efficient, helps relieve the pressure on our hospitals and is user friendly. The GP services are bulk billed and receive Medicare funding.
Each clinic is supported by a Registered GP, a volunteer registered nurse, outreach worker and counsellor. They also have a driver who requires a Light rigid (LR) driver’s licence to deliver the general practice on wheels.
Black Swan Health identified the need for a Street Doctor service in the North metropolitan areas of Perth. In 2023, they approached various local governments in this region seeking support to commence the Street Doctor clinics in areas of need, to identify accessible locations and seek local government funding contribution. They required local funding of $10,000 per annum to contribute towards offsetting the costs of each weekly clinic. The City of Stirling approached Rotary clubs to fund this activity. As this is a large undertaking for one Rotary Club, Louise Hancock from Rotary Club of Osborne Park, approached several nearby Rotary Clubs and invited them to form a partnership for this project. Rotary Club of Karrinyup and Scarborough accepted this opportunity.
The funds have been raised, the medical team recruited, and the weekly three-hour clinic commenced operations on 13th March 2024. The mobile clinik is situated at ‘Wandjoo Gardens’, Kalyakool Lane/Milldale Way, strategically positioned to maximise easy access for clients.
Black Swan Heath CEO Terina Grace says:
“As we celebrate twenty years of our Street Doctor Service in the South, your contribution to help establish a Northern service will positively impact the lives of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our Perth North metropolitan community.
Your generosity ensures that we can continue to offer valuable healthcare services to those who need it most. We are honoured to have the Rotary Club – Osborne Park as a valued donor to help us bring the Street Doctor Service into the northern suburbs.”
Rotary Club of Osborne Park is proud to contribute to the health and wellbeing of the Homeless community, a key target group for our activities that offer “Service above Self.” We look forward to having Black Swan Health as a key partner in the future.