For a very long time, it has been evident to us as an organisation that the Ipswich community needed an on-the-ground health care service, most significantly for those people sleeping rough.
The very definition of innovation is to find a new idea or method to problem-solve. So, in the knowledge that Beddown donors are driven to support people experiencing homelessness with a health and wellbeing response, commencing in May 2024, we have launched a partnership with OneBridge, thanks to the generous donations of Beddown supporters.
OneBridge, a specialised onsite health and social care service for priority populations is partnering with our organisation to provide expert health support to people in Ipswich who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness until June 2025.
So, what does this partnership look like day-to-day?
With a focus on supporting the needs of people sleeping rough within the Ipswich community, inCommunity Connect’s Assertive Outreach Team and OneBridge Nurses will head out in the early morning to connect with people who may be rough sleeping around the CBD streets, in a local park, in a tent or a car, for instance.
Critical to both teams’ approaches when working alongside someone sleeping rough is understanding that there may be a range of complexities or barriers they are experiencing that prevent them from accessing mainstream support at this stage in their life.
An experience that underscores why homelessness is so visible in communities throughout our state, even when such important Queensland Government responses such as the IHRF and IHR programs are available as delivered via inCommunity Connect.
Mistrust can be one of the most significant barriers and often relates to mainstream health care, with potentially dire consequences for a person’s health, often impacting their success in other fundamental areas of life, such as housing. Developing positive, purposeful relationships is the inCommunity Way, and it translates to developing meaningful trust with members of the Ipswich community who are sleeping rough.
It is this trust that allows the inCommunity Connect team to introduce the OneBridge nurses to a person experiencing this most raw experience of homelessness and allows for an easy conversation to start with, which then creates an opportunity to open the pathway up for them to access essential health care. It has been seamless and is generating incredible impact.
And the data reflects this.
In May and June, these conversations translated to Consultations for Primary Health Care 145 times with 32 patients, indicating return consultations from the outset via our partnership and demonstrating people’s trust extending to the OneBridge team immediately.
Health Education was the most discussed topic in these consultations, often due to a need to understand or know essential health care and self-care undertakings.
“Thank you for doing my wound care today. I don’t need to go to the hospital now!”
For example, if a person is unaware of the signs or symptoms of an infection in a wound, they may not understand the need to treat it. They may seek to wash it in the Bremer River, Ipswich’s local waterway, unaware of the risks associated with doing so Escalating infections can result in a person becoming septic, a devastating prognosis.
Or if a person doesn’t understand the medication prescribed to them. It may leave them extraordinarily vulnerable to mismanaging their health care and not knowing what happens if they miss taking the medication or what happens if it is used with
other substances.
“Thank you so much for helping me navigate this. It has been so overwhelming and I did not know where to start so thank you.”
Broadening the scope of OneBridge’s partnership, their nursing team also work alongside the inCommunity Connect Case Management teams in our IHRF, IHR and Women’s Club programs.
For families, it could be sharing important information with Mum and/or Dad on when a young child’s rash may need to be attended to by a health expert. Or unpacking steps for a parent or carer to prioritise their own health needs amidst the ongoing pressure and stress of insecure housing for their family. Sometimes, even a relatively simple task may require additional support if someone doesn’t have a Medicare Card or the funds to fill a script.
“Thanks for your help. Its nice to have someone to talk to.”
Similarly prominent is the topic of Mental Health Conversations. These can occur in a range of different ways.
From possibly the most slow-moving yet life-saving conversation of all, holding space, listening and providing very short-term plans for a person’s future in a Suicide Prevention Conversation or escalating the person’s care to a Mental Health Nurse or Queensland Ambulance Service.
Social Prescribing also occurs when a OneBridge nurse can suggest ways for the person to connect with the community in an activity that gives them joy, often able to happen when a person feels motivated within a change cycle.
“Thanks for checking in with me.”
Reflecting on the early success of our organisation’s partnership with OneBridge, delivered through the generosity of Beddown supporters, it is immediately evident that it is making essential inroads into the health and wellbeing of vulnerable members of the Ipswich community.
From conversation to consultation to immediate onsite health care as well as follow-ups, referrals to specialists or completing the Department of Housing application’s health component, the OneBridge team comprehensively supports the people who connect with our specialist housing and homelessness service.
Working side-by-side with the inCommunity Connect team. Tapping into each other’s expertise when needed or leaning out when a specialised response is required. Creating tangible health outcomes by bringing two interconnected disciplines of Case Management and Onsite Health Service to support the people we work alongside to attend to their health and access mainstream health care.
As the months move on in our partnership and with an average of 60 Consultations for Primary Health Care occurring per month at the time of writing, we highlight the ongoing need for a partnership of this kind in the Ipswich Community.
Pictured here OneBridge Nurse Tessa and inCommunity Connect Women’s Club Participant Bec. Quotes from inCommunity Connect and OneBridge Clients.
www.onebridge.com.au
www.incommunity.com.au
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