Lockhart River and Coen director of nursing Josh Stafford has been recognised as a leader in remote Australian nursing. Photo: Supplied.
After being recognised as a leader in remote Australian nursing and midwifery, a Cape York nursing director is pledging to continue advocating for improvements and celebrating achievements in the region.
Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS) Lockhart River and Coen director of nursing Josh Stafford was announced as a CRANAplus Fellow at the CRANA Remote Nursing and Midwifery Conference in Melbourne recently.
The fellowship honours those who are leaders in their area of influence, show a commitment to their development and demonstrate excellence in community, clinical, management, research, teaching, quality, cultural, or professional contribution.
“CRANAplus is the peak professional body that represents the remote area workforce in Australia, so the fellowship is sort of a recognition of being a leader in that field,” Mr Stafford explained.
“It’s also a commitment to progressing the issues and ideas of the remote workforce, and to be an advocate for the remote workforce.
“It’s a big responsibility for me to be able to champion what we do here on the Cape and Torres Strait, as well as highlight some of the issues that we face.”
Having dedicated most of his career to remote community nursing, Mr Stafford said he was passionate not only about pushing for improvements, but also celebrating how far healthcare had come on Cape York and the Torres Strait.
He first arrived in Aurukun in 2007 with no remote nursing experience, but said he knew almost right away he had found his passion.
“What’s really important to me, as a person and as a professional, is that I can contribute to making the world a better place, and I think that I can really do that in remote communities because of the connections I can make with the community and the team,” he said.
“I’ve also been encouraged over the years by the improvements I’ve seen in the Cape, and I think that’s really important to note, is that the Cape I came to in 2007 is not the Cape I’m working in now.
“The improvements have been slow, but they have been vast; the immunisation rates in the Cape have soared in the time that I’ve been here, and other health statistics have definitely increased as well, and I’m really pleased to be a part of that.”
With the fellowship under his belt, Mr Stafford will now have a seat at the table at various policy-making forums.
For him, attracting healthcare professionals to remote areas for the “long haul” was one of his top priorities.
“Since COVID, the nursing workforce has really changed, and we need to encourage more nurses and other healthcare professionals to enter into the field,” he said.
“We need to make improvements in the way that we treat nurses, and we need to make improvements in nurses’ housing, conditions and pay.
“It’s not just the nurses either, it’s about attracting medical professionals to come and work here, and commit to forming relationships with the community and being here for the long haul.”
