Table 3 Health Professional Focus Groups: additional data according to identified themes

Orientation and guidelines

  ‘There’s so much expert knowledge that we have developed in the NT, most people actually don’t know when they first arrive.’(Public Health Physician)

  ‘There has been involvement from the remote nutritionists […] more access to dieticians [resulting in] a real robustness around the remote midwives feeling comfortable about some basic messages.’ (Diabetes educator)

Education

  ‘[We] are dealing with a population with the most complex health issues […] the most complex social issues. Of course, it is not going to be easy.’ (Public health physician)

  ‘[There is] so much more awareness out in the community now’.(Diabetes educator)

Communication

  ‘The trouble with midwifery coverage in Central Australia is that it is delivered by five different services all accountable to different line managers, all with different priorities and stuff like that. And no sort of overall clinical coordination.’ (Remote midwife)

Logistics and Access

  ‘[Continuity of care is made] easier because [of] the [Aboriginal] Liaison Officer who […] actually go[es] out to some of the hostels in Alice Springs and bring[s] [clients] in.’ (Remote diabetes educator)

 ‘[Aboriginal Health Practitioners are critical especially] if we don’t know where people are staying, or we don’t know if they are in [town], we do not have a clue how to get a hold of them to bring them in[to the clinic].’ (Remote diabetes educator)

  ‘[Since the commencement of the partnership] there’s been a really strong level of engagement which has been a very positive thing because it takes a few years of you know people getting new information and then looking at how they integrate that into their routine work practice and you know I suspect it may not be until actually after the end of the project that we really start to see perhaps the impact of what’s all the changes that [….] been putting into place.’ (Diabetes Educator)

Information Technology

  'A dedicated virtual clinic [like] tele-health [would overcome some problems with communication]. (Diabetes educator)

Opportunities for further improvements in MOC

  ‘[A Care Co-ordinator would be useful] because you’ve got such a vast area of clinics with you know, who don’t have the resources of the midwife or people who know what they’re doing, I think that’s a great idea.’ (Remote outreach midwife)

 ‘A health directory would be very very useful.’(Remote general practitioner)

 ‘We need a mechanism to take collective knowledge, so that when someone comes in new, [they don’t] have to wait until they’ve been here for seven years before they know who to refer to.’ (Public health physician)