A range of Medical Specialist opportunities exists in Community, Population and Rural Health. Such opportunities include provision of primary health, population health and community support services delivered in community settings.
Alcohol and Drug Services
We provide a range of services within three broad areas:
- Treatment;
- Education and training; and
- Health promotion
These include an intervention unit, needle availability program, alcohol and drug information service, counselling and referral services, a methadone program, quit smoking programs, a substance abuse clinic, education and training and a wide range of health promotion activities.
Mental Health
Our Psychiatrists work in inpatient, community, or integrated services, within the context of multidisciplinary teams:
- There are good opportunities to provide specialist support to a well developed primary care sector with an interest in mental health care, with particular opportunities to be involved in visiting outreach services to rural areas;
- Excellent connections between mental health services and other key services, including drug and alcohol services, disability services and correctional health services, with a new multidisciplinary forensic mental health centre.
- The capacity to contribute to teaching and supervision of medical students and trainees in psychiatry and for a relationship with the School of Medicine;
- Good opportunities to contribute to service development and clinical leadership; and
- The mental health service has a well-developed clinical and administrative structure providing support to specialist practice.
Forensic Mental Health Services
Our Forensic Mental Health Service is a new multidisciplinary service, supported by a strong commitment from the Tasmanian Government for individuals to improve health outcomes for individuals involved in the criminal justice system.
Features of this commitment include:
- A new 35 bed secure mental health unit for treatment and rehabilitation, outside the prison perimeter, supported by later development of a new Health Centre built inside the prison.
- Full court liason and Community Forensic Mental Health Services.
- Modern evidence based programs.
- Involvement in the development of a completely new system.
- Great career path opportunities.
- Multidisciplinary team framework and support.
- Excellent connections between Correctional Health Service and other key service providers including Mental Health Services, Drug and Alcohol Services and Disability Service.
Clarence Community Health Centre
Our Clarence Community Health Centre (CCHC) is a primary care health centre with two premises - one at Bellerive and one at Risdon Vale. The focus is on community care and patients are mainly Medicare card holders (who are bulk-billed). The Centre is co-located with other community services including Community Health nurses, podiatry, physiotherapy, speech pathology, dentistry and family and child health.
CCHC is a Centre of Excellence, with responsibility for teaching medical, nursing and pharmacy students. The Centre is also affiliated with the University of Tasmania for research into General Practice, and with General Practice Training Tasmania for teaching General Practice trainees. CCHC supervises impaired doctors during their return to work.
Doctors work at Clarence on a sessional basis, and most of the staff GPs work sessions to suit their family or work commitments.
Palliative Care
Our Tasmanian Palliative Care Service has community teams around the state working in both urban and rural areas. Our team are all specialists in palliative care and provide services which include:
- Comprehensive assessment;
- Practical support;
- Out of hours medical advice, information and support;
- Bereavement support and counselling; and
- Education for families, professionals and community groups.
We provide palliative care in many settings, with two dedicated facilities for palliative care patients in Hobart and Launceston. Our Medical Director and two of our palliative medical specialists hold conjoint appointments with the University of Tasmania in recognition of the importance of research and education.