Clements Medical Group opens veterans hub in Idalia and Charters Towers practice
Familiar with the challenges facing defence force members transitioning to civilian life, a veteran doctor has launched a dedicated medical hub. Read how he’s also supporting Charters Towers.
Townsville
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A Townsville doctor familiar with the challenges facing Australian Defence Force members transitioning from military to civilian life has opened a veteran focused health hub, along with a medical practice which has attracted Charters Towers’ first CT scanner.
Dr Michael Clements served in the Royal Australian Air Force for 13 years as a doctor and pilot, including deployments in the Middle East and Afghanistan, before being posted to Townsville in 2010, and opening his first medical practice at Fairfield Central in 2015.
In the decade since, Dr Clements has harnessed his lived experience to support local ADF members, building up the Clements Medical Group to become the largest network of GPs in North Queensland, with practices at Magnetic Island, Townsville CBD, Idalia, and Charters Towers.
Located at The Precinct in Shop 3, 9-13 Kokoda St, the Clements Medical Veterans’ Hub opened a month ago, offering specialised support for the defence force community.
“We liked the site … it’s a bit of a medical precinct, so we thought this (hub) would fit in well there,” Dr Clements said.
“It’s going to be focusing on supporting veterans in their transition and claims processes through the (Department of Veterans’ Affairs) and also psychological and social therapy services … consultation based work.
“It’s certainly the first site in Townsville that’s been dedicated to veterans health and transition, and we need it given that it’s such a big garrison city.”
Given the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide’s recognition of the difficulties in transitioning from full time service to civilian life, he said it was important to provide wide-ranging assistance through a dedicated area.
“We have been doing this kind of paperwork and support through our other clinics already, but what this allows us to do is have specially trained administration and front desk support and case management of all of our veterans who need that support,” he said.
“It’s got a dedicated phone line (and) email address, and it’s a place that people can come, away from the typical hustle and bustle of a busy medical clinic to have their transition assessed.
“At the moment, we’ve got a social worker and doctors (that) are either ex-military or have worked with the military with a focus on supporting the veterans in transition … and we are in the process of recruiting psychologists.”
This week, Dr Clements and three other doctors opened a new medical practice in the Charters Towers’ Goldtower Central precinct, at 10/ 17-19 Cavey Ct.
“There was a need not just to bring more doctors, but to have a good, purpose-built medical area that could service the growing town … and it’s got Ravenswood nearby … it’s a bit of a hub for many of the towns in the area,” he said.
The medical centre offers a full range of services from “childhood immunisations and antenatal care all the way through to palliative care and voluntary assisted dying”.
“We’ve got a radiology group signed on … just across from us in this complex, there’s going to be Charters Towers’ first medical imaging site other than the hospital … bringing the first CT scanner to Charters Towers,” he said.
“Which means a whole lot of patients aren’t going to have to travel from Charters Towers to Townsville for CT scans anymore.”
For more information, visit: www.clementsmedical.com.au.
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Originally published as Clements Medical Group opens veterans hub in Idalia and Charters Towers practice
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