The Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub is dedicated to ensuring people experiencing disadvantage in Brisbane have access to quality physical, dental, mental health and holistic healthcare services irrespective of their ability to pay.

Delivering quality health services that are integrated with other social services is an important part of our hub's vision.

The Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub provides general practice (GP) services and wellness programs.

Our doctors offer general health consultations as well as many specialist services including:

• Primary Health consultations
• Consultation to support chronic disease plans and mental health plans
• Women’s Health
• Pregnancy care
• Sexual Health screening and treatment
• Skin checks
• Mental Health
• Vaccinations.

Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub reception. Photography: Katie Bennett.

Please note we do not take appointments through email. For appointments, please call 3013 6050.

Address
15 Hope Street, South Brisbane Q 4101
PO Box 3449, South Brisbane Q 4101
admin@inclusivehealth.org.au
inclusiveinclusivehealth.org.au

Reception hours: Monday to Friday 8am – 4pm

The Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub’s mission is to improve access to healthcare for people experiencing difficulties in accessing mainstream healthcare services.

Our mission is informed by the social determinants of health and, as such, we are committed to overcoming health inequality by providing integrated primary, dental and mental health services which are high quality and holistic, irrespective of ability to pay.

We are working towards achieving this and aim to:

• address the barriers that prevent people from accessing the basic health services they require to support a healthy life
• provide high quality, personalised, integrated health services that reflect the needs of the whole person
• prioritise the needs of people who experience difficulties in accessing mainstream healthcare services
• work in collaboration with social and community service providers to ensure the social factors that contribute to negative health outcomes are identified, and where possible are managed or alleviated.

Why does Brisbane need an Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub?

Conventional models of healthcare practice currently deliver positive outcomes for most of the Brisbane population.

However, a growing body of evidence has highlighted that conventional mainstream primary health, dental and emergency services as they are currently delivered, do not work well for highly disadvantaged and marginalised populations.

This results in poor individual patient outcomes, poor health across already disadvantaged communities and a poor economic return on government spending despite the best intentions of everyone involved.

But there is a solution: a way to help give everyone a ‘fair go’ in the healthcare system, and break the cycle of health inequality: a holistic, integrated, inclusive health and wellness hub designed especially for this purpose.

This is a ‘first’ for Brisbane.

The Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub is committed to ensuring that every person, regardless of their circumstances, has access to quality physical, dental, mental health and holistic healthcare services irrespective of their ability to pay.

We are committed to drawing upon the best-possible evidence based research, including field-research, to develop and deliver clinic services that best serve the individual, their immediate community and the broader Brisbane community and governments.

Key studies have demonstrated that early, targeted and preventative engagement with the target population in a timely manner, will result in improved health outcomes for both the individual and the target population while simultaneously increasing value for money and cost reductions for the broader community.

These benefits are in keeping with the internationally recognised Triple Aim healthcare approach, which:

• seeks to improve the health of the population,
• enhance the experience and outcomes of the patient, and
• reduce per capita cost of care for the benefit of communities by using evidence of efficacy and quality of care outcomes to reduce waste, minimise inefficiencies, and redirect efforts for maximum effect.

Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub Practice Manager. Photography: Katie Bennett.

Our approach is underpinned by our values, which in partnership with evidence-based research, inform our practice.

People First
Health issues and challenges do not happen in isolation. We will always treat the person first as a whole person, with a lifetime of experiences, for whom a health challenge has arisen.

Overcoming Health Inequality
Ensure all people, regardless of life or economic circumstances, have access to affordable high quality healthcare which is their right as citizens.

Integration
We are committed to integration, to overcoming silos in healthcare and in community support. We work across disciplines and healthcare domains to provide people with what they need to get well.

Dignity, Respect and Compassion
All people accessing the service will be treated with dignity and respect. Judgement of individuals or the circumstances surrounding their health or social needs has no place in our service.

Inclusion and Diversity
We strive to be inclusive and to respect the diversity of the people who access our service.

Recovery and Trauma
We recognise that recovery from trauma and/or addiction is a highly personal and unique journey to each person, based on self-determination and self-management. Noting the critical role this plays in lifelong health outcomes, we are committed to working alongside people accessing our services at a pace of their choosing.

Quality and Excellence
We aspire to provide high quality healthcare services and strive to be leaders of excellence in the development and delivery of best practice primary healthcare for vulnerable populations.

Timeliness
We are committed to acting as quickly as possible to achieve good health outcomes for people, given the resources available and the need to prioritise. We will do all we can to ensure people receive timely healthcare services.

Innovative and Solution-Oriented
We are committed to the development and trialling of innovative ideas wherever appropriate. We will always seek solutions to issues as they arise, working with others, breaking down silos and boundaries that might otherwise impede innovation and solutions.

Collaboration
We seek collaborative partnerships with individuals and organisations who have, or will use our services, who will provide them, and those who support them. We work in the spirit of collaboration, respecting the valuable input of all as we strive to achieve our mission.

Commitment and Appreciation
We believe in what we do. We conduct our work with commitment. We appreciate the work of our staff and volunteers, our partners and the individuals who trust us to provide them with quality services.

The Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub operates under the auspice of a company limited by guarantee, Inclusive Health Partnerships Ltd.

The company was registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) in September 2015. We are a Public Benevolent Institution (PBI) with Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status.

Company Directors are:

• Alice I-Hsin Lu
• Karyn Walsh
• Michael Kelly
• Wei-Cheng Lu.

An Inclusive Health Stakeholder Committee was established in late 2016 and consists of government and non-government organisations who support the hub. This committee meets quarterly.

The initial opening of the Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub has only been made possible through innovative partnerships which have developed over a ten year period under the umbrella of Inclusive Health Partnerships.

The partners are:

• Mater Misericordiae Ltd
• Princess Alexandra Hospital
• St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Brisbane
• The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation
• Micah Projects.

These partners have operated Integrated Healthcare Services which deliver nurse-led programs, underpinned by a Clinical Governance Steering Committee.

The Hub
The Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub has been developed in collaboration with the partners but it is operated by a new not-for-profit company - Inclusive Health Partnerships Ltd, a social enterprise joint venture between Micah Projects and The Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation.

• Micah Projects is a not-for-profit organisation committed to providing services and opportunities in the community to create justice and respond to injustice. Micah Projects services are wide ranging to reflect the diversity of challenges people face in Brisbane.
• Tzu Chi Foundation is a UN acknowledged NGO with volunteers in 50 countries across 345 offices worldwide. Tzu Chi's mission focuses on providing materials aids to the needy and to promote love and humanity to both givers and recipients. The Foundation dedicates itself in the fields of charity, medical service, promotion of humanistic values, and education. For more information on Tzu Chi Foundation please visit our website.

Opening of the Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub, 25 February 2017. Photography: Craig Holmes.

The Brisbane North PHN assisted the development of the hub by funding the development of a business plan and stakeholder engagement strategy.

An initial capital investment of $800,000 in donations allowed for the required medical standard fit-out for the hub. We are now seeking partners to support the ongoing operational funding associated with operating the hub.

View the 2016 PwC Evaluation of the Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub model.

To find out more about becoming a partner please contact us.

"Remember the alternative to poverty is not wealth but justice. We have the knowledge and the means to improve people’s lives and reduce health inequality. The spirit of social justice demands that we act now."

Professor Sir Michael Marmot
ABC Boyer Lectures 2016: Fair Australia: Social Justice and the Health Gap

• 2021 Annual Report - Inclusive Health Partnerships Ltd is a partnership between Micah Projects and Tzu Buddhist Compassionate Relief. Together we continue to work towards our vision of overcoming inequality and leaving no one behind. This has become even more integral as we continue to see the impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic amplifying the growing inequality and fragility of our safety net systems including healthcare not only here in Brisbane but across Australia20211119 IHP Report

  Read more in the 2021 Inclusive Health Partnerships Ltd Annual Report

• 2020 Annual Report - We are pleased to report that during 2019-2020 and, despite the disruption caused by COVID-19, the Inclusive Health and Wellbeing Hub (the Hub), made great progress...
  Read more in the 2020 Inclusive Health Partnerships Ltd Annual Report

• 2019 Annual Report – As this year ends, the focus for the future is to enhance access for vulnerable people and people experiencing homelessness, thus maximising the per-capita cost of health interventions with vulnerable populations...
  Read more in the 2019 Inclusive Health Partnerships Ltd Annual Report

• 2018 Annual Report – Driven by a vision to ‘overcome health inequality: leaving no one behind’, this year has seen the consolidation of the Health and Wellness Hub...
  Read more in the 2018 Inclusive Health Partnerships Ltd Annual Report
  

• 2017 Annual Report – The second year of Inclusive Health Partnerships Ltd has been significant in many ways especially with the opening of the Inclusive Health and Wellness Hub on 25th February 2017…
  Read more in the 2017 Inclusive Health Partnerships Ltd Annual Report

• 2016 Annual Report – For many years, Micah Projects has been advocating for a designated primary healthcare clinic in Brisbane to provide integrated healthcare for people who are homeless and who experience social disadvantage…
  Read more in the 2016 Inclusive Health Partnerships Ltd Annual Report