On a typical day of flying with MAF, Shaun Bell can deliver physiotherapy treatment to seven or eight patients in up to four homelands. By car, the travel time alone would consume a full day back on forth on the area’s rugged tracks.
“I’m typically flying out two to three times a week, and sometimes sleeping over in places,” said Shaun.
This level of access to physiotherapy can make a world of difference to his patients, many of whom would face steadily deteriorating health and premature death without regular, consistent treatment.
Arnhem Land can be idyllic country but, for complex historical reasons, its indigenous people live with an elevated risk of haemorrhagic stroke and cardiovascular disease and associated chronic health conditions.
The remoteness of Arnhem Land from the rest of Australia and the harsh terrain separating the homeland communities from Nhulunbuy, the only town in the region, present numerous challenges to healthcare providers.
Charl Neuhoff, founder and owner of Wämut Physio, said, “One of our main logistical hurdles in Arnhem Land is the vast distances involved in treating our patients. Many outstations and communities are completely cut off for prolonged periods during Wet Season.”
Patients and their families are often confronted by the tough choice of either moving into town for ongoing healthcare or remaining close to their families, land and culture, and the two can be mutually exclusive.
“The choice is understandably traumatic,” said Charl.
“Our raison d’etre at Wämut is bridging this gap with a fit-for-purpose health care service that focusses intensively on the delivery of best practice rehab to remote patients.
We could not even hope to do what we do without the beautiful people at MAF.
“And, of course, a key element of this is the ability to actually make it out to our patients.”
And this is where MAF helps to make a real difference in the lives of both patients and their supporters across east Arnhem Land.
“The ability to deliver increased frequency of services via MAF has correlated directly to improved patient outcomes within our caseload, which includes stroke, Parkinson's disease, cerebral palsy, global developmental delay, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, scoliosis and others,” Charl said.
“We could not even hope to do what we do without the beautiful people at MAF.”
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Watch this video to follow Shaun Bell working with physiotherapy patients in the homelands: