Scholarship

Neal Street Medical Clinic Health Scholarship

At Neal Street Medical Clinic, we are passionate about health and in particular the health of our local community. We are pleased to announce a $5,000 health scholarship programme which will be available every year.

The recipient of the 2024 Neal Street Medical Clinic Health Scholarship is Lily Reid. This exceptional 17-year-old student is set to receive a $5,000 scholarship in recognition of her academic pursuits at university level.

Having recently completed her secondary education at Gisborne Secondary College, Lily is poised to commence her bachelor's degree in nursing at Latrobe University in Bendigo in March 2024. Following the successful completion of her nursing degree, she aspires to pursue further studies in medicine as a postgraduate student at Melbourne University's rural school in Shepparton.

Lily’s profound dedication to advancing rural health initiatives has been a driving force behind her decision to pursue her academic endeavours in regional Victoria, reflecting her commitment to making a meaningful impact in communities like ours.

Here is Lily’s essay:

Should healthcare be a human right or a privilege? Does the Australian healthcare system align with either of these perspectives?

Nearly 6 million people each year in developing countries die due to inability to access healthcare. While not being able to check in with your GP or be sent to a hospital may seem unimaginable for the majority of us Australians, it is the stark reality for an extensive list of countries such as Cuba, Pakistan, South Africa and Iran. Typical citizens of these countries are forced to experience firsthand their governments socioeconomic stance on healthcare as a privilege, rather than the right we experience in Australia. This government stance gives us Australians the comfort to blur the ethical line between privilege and right in healthcare, and while we access our subsidised routine healthcare services, we fail to remind ourselves of the indulgence we are experiencing, and the people that cannot experience the same.

This detachment has ultimately led to an increase in hostility and abuse towards Australian healthcare workers, with 2 in 3 healthcare workers being exposed to such. And while I remind you that access to healthcare services is in fact a right, that does not mean that we can treat our frontline workers with entitlement and inadvertently disrespect the millions of people who would give anything to have the same clinical cushioning as us.

Healthcare processes and the systems on the front line of these are ultimately a governmental decision, and we are shown second hand, across the globe, the impacts of these governments stance on said right versus privilege. Manifesting the confronting difference between ourselves and third world countries. Healthcare itself is currently a WHO “fundamental human right,” however many countries display ignorance to this declaration, or are unspecific about the extents to which it carries.

While my life experience does not enable me to fully immerse myself in why healthcare should be a necessary “fundamental human right”, there are statistics that can help us put into perspective the impacts on societies when healthcare is seen as a privilege, rather than this “right”, as healthcare services form the basis for all other fundamental human rights, and without, a domino effect is created.

Governmentally, the Australian healthcare system does align with the stance that healthcare should be a human right. However, there are a handful of discrepancies we begin to see, particularly throughout rural areas or those with a minority demographics. This poses the question, is living in metropolitan Australia a privilege? Or is this how our government views all Australian residents, and subsequently their access to high quality, on demand healthcare?

For both Sunbury and Gisborne in 2022, ambulance wait times for code one incidents, which require urgent care, were shown to stay above the recommended 15 minutes average for both towns. If these statistics are relevant to our home in the Macedon ranges, less than an hour away from Melbourne, just image the scale at which these statistics spiral when you are potentially over a 10 hour drive to a metropolitan hospital. Remote Australian death rates are, on average 1.2-1.7 times higher than those in major cities. Not only does this put into perspective the privilege of reduced waiting times and less transportation risks that we have, but it also highlights a deeper issue within rural communities and their demographics.

Governments are attempting to push healthcare onto communities who do not want it. There is an increased vulnerability and fear in rural towns, and a struggle in government attempts to engage populations in healthcare, with the mortality rate of Indigenous Australians being over three times higher than the general population. The healthcare dilemma in Australia is not just about cost or transportation, it is a band aid effect deeply rooted in societal determinates.

So next time you find yourself frustrated about being sat in your GP waiting area for 15 minutes, or struggling to book a specialist appointment that fits your personal schedule, I encourage you to remind yourself that even having the opportunity to do such is a luxury many Australians cannot indulge themselves in, likewise to third world countries where being regional is irrelevant in this discussion.

We will be awarding one scholarship every year and the scholarship is for $5,000. Applications will open again at the end of 2024 for next year’s applicants.

We always hear about rural workforce shortages in health care and our area is no exception to this. This is an issue that both State and Federal governments are doing their best to sort out. We feel as a local health care provider, we should also contribute to the discussion and aim to find solutions. We are very grateful for the support of our community and want to make sure that we give back to our community.

This health scholarship programme is aimed at supporting our local students who are aiming to do a healthcare qualification at tertiary level. With their local connections, we hope these students will one day come back to serve their local community.

The essay topic for the 2023/24 scholarship was:

Should healthcare be a human right or a privilege? Does the Australian healthcare system align with either of these perspectives?

Another essay topic will be posted for 2024/25 Scholarship.

Eligibility to apply:

1. Must be either a resident and/or a school student in the Macedon Ranges Shire or Sunbury.

2. School students must be currently in Year 12 and have applied to do a healthcare qualification at a tertiary institution in 2024. Postgraduate students applying to do a healthcare qualification at a tertiary institution in 2024 may also apply.  

3. Healthcare qualifications need to be one of the following:

• Medicine

• Nursing & Midwifery

• Allied health (Audiologist, Chiropractor, Dietician, Exercise Physiologist, Occupational Therapist, Optometrist, Osteopathy, Podiatrist, Physiotherapist, Psychologist, Social Worker, Speech Therapist)

• Dentistry or Biomedicine

4. The applicant must have confirmation of enrolment in the course prior to payment being released.

Scholarship Details:

1. The applicant must submit their response to the topic by email to rana@nealstmc.com.au.

2. Email your response as a word document attachment. In your email, please also include your contact details, details of the school or university you currently attend, details of the degree you hope to apply for in 2024 and any other information you feel may be relevant.

3. The applicant must submit a 1-2 page response on the essay topic. The best essay will be awarded the scholarship.

4. Applications will open on the 1st of December 2024 and close on the 28th of January 2025.

5. The scholarship recipient will be announced on the 9th of February 2025.

6. The winning essay will be published on our website and social media.

7. A one off payment of $5,000 will be made to the successful recipient.

Judging Panel:

Dr Alaa Al-Obaidi, Dr Carl Lee, Dr Abdu Saadoon from our Woodend Clinic

Please share this with anyone who may be eligible to apply. The applicant does not need to be a patient at Neal Street Medical Clinic.

All enquiries should be emailed to rana@nealstmc.com.au