North West Hospital and Health Service

Home
Australia
Mount Isa, QLD
North West Hospital and Health Service

Do not use this page to report an emergency or to seek medical advice. In an emergency call Triple Zero.

We provide a range of healthcare services to a number of communities in the region including: Burketown, Camooweal, Cloncurry, Dajarra, Doomadgee, Julia Creek, Karumba, Mornington Island, Mount Isa, Normanton. The main facility for the North West Hospital and Health Service is the Mount Isa Hospital which is situated at 30 Camooweal Street Mount Isa. From here we provide a vast range of clinical and non-clinical services to our region.

01/05/2026

Happy Administrative Professionals Day: The MVPs of the North West 👏🧡

Today we celebrate the people who keep everything ticking (and let’s be honest… probably know more about what’s going on than the rest of us combined 👀).

A huge congratulations to Sara Pengo, our Admin of the Year 🏆
In true admin fashion, Sara was so on top of things she even had a well-earned day off during the celebrations today 😌✨
Don’t worry though — a shining spotlight on Sara is coming soon… stay tuned!!

To our admin legends right across the North West 🙏 THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU 🥳
You’re the first face our patients see and the calm voice on the other end of the phone.
You’re the organisers, the fixers, the ones who make things happen. From finance, to IT, communications, data, and HR, across every team, every site… you keep it all moving.

Quite simply the place does not run without you. And we all know it.

Today (and every day), we appreciate you 🧡

30/04/2026

🖤💛❤️ Welcoming our new Board to Country

Our new Board kicked things off in true North West style this week, with a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony to ground the start of their journey with us.

Thank you to Kalkadoon PBC for sharing such a meaningful and beautiful ceremony, a powerful way to begin this new chapter together. 👏

Over the week, Board members took part in a full orientation, meeting with teams across the service and gaining a deeper understanding of the work happening right across our communities.

They’re looking forward to getting out and meeting more of our staff and communities in the coming weeks 👣

Straight into it 💪

29/04/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Jessica 🌟

Meet Jessica, Admin Officer in Cloncurry, and this year she’s celebrating 10 years with us 👏

Originally from a station outside Hughenden, Jessica made the move into admin after first training in hairdressing.

💅“Hairdressing was great,” she laughs, “but admin suits me better in the long run.”

And for the past decade, she’s been doing exactly that... a bit of everything, every day.

Jessica’s role is broad (as most remote roles are). From front-of-house support to behind-the-scenes organisation, she helps keep the wheels turning. She’s also part of a small but mighty admin team who work around the clock, including weekends, something not many people realise.

“There’s always something different happening,” she says. “You’ve just got to be ready for whatever the day brings.” 🤹‍♀️

Outside of work, life is just as full. Jessica and her family make the most of the North West lifestyle; fishing trips, camping, and plenty of time outdoors with the kids.

And there’s even more excitement on the horizon 🤰 Jessica is currently expecting 🧡

Healthcare runs in the family too. Her sister, Elizabeth, is a Queensland Health midwife in the North West (currently on maternity leave herself). Safe to say, babies and bush life are well covered in this family.

After 10 years in Cloncurry, Jessica remains a steady, familiar face, someone who knows the community and keeps things running quietly in the background.

Thanks for everything you do, Jessica! and congratulations on both milestones ahead 👏 🧡

23/04/2026

🎨 Got a mini Picasso at home? Or a future Banksy hiding in your classroom? 👀

We’re launching the CYMHS 2026 Art Competition and we want to see what our young creatives can do!

Now… we know kids technically aren’t meant to be scrolling social media 😉 so we’re calling on the real MVPs: parents, carers, teachers, aunties, uncles, and anyone who’s got a talented young artist in their orbit — this is your cue to pass it on!

Whether they love to paint, draw, doodle or go full glitter chaos mode, this is their chance to get involved and showcase their creativity 🎉

Theme: Inside my world – thoughts, feelings, culture and country
Prizes: $500 SportsPower voucher + art set (yes, they’ll actually want to win this one)🏆
Open to: Years 4–12 across the North West
Entries close: 26 June 2026

👉 Sign up sheet + T&Cs are live on our website: https://buff.ly/di3lmQy

Tag someone who needs to hand their kid a paintbrush this weekend 👇🎨

22/04/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Nursing & Midwifery Workforce Unit 🌟

Meet the Nursing & Midwifery Workforce Unit working across North West HHS to support our nurses, midwives and services with the practical side of workforce planning.

From recruitment and onboarding, to rostering, agency coordination and workforce advice, this team helps make sense of it all so services can focus on delivering care.

💡 So what do they actually do?
Think of them as your go-to for:
• Recruitment and onboarding support
• Workforce planning and establishment advice
• RANIP and incentive guidance
• Agency and workforce pool coordination
• Business Planning Framework (BPF) support
• Rostering guidance
• And pretty much anything else workforce-related that makes you go “who do I even ask?”

👥 Meet the team:
Paula Baigent – Nursing Director (Business Planning & Workforce)
Provides strategic leadership and oversees workforce planning and modelling across the HHS.

Anu Augustine – Nurse Manager (Workforce)
Supports operational workforce processes, recruitment and service-level planning.

Zali Phare – HR Support Officer (Recruitment)
Facilitates recruitment, onboarding and vacancy management.

Claire Matthews – HR Support Officer (Agency Procurement)
Coordinates agency workforce requests and helps services access compliant, efficient solutions.

Their focus is simple: clear advice, practical support, real partnership! Working alongside teams to solve workforce challenges and make processes easier to navigate.

Interested in finding out more about nursing or midwifery roles at NWHHS? Email the team at NWHHS.NursingMidwiferyRecruitment@health.qld.gov.au or visit our careers page 👉 https://buff.ly/4nerm4z

Whether you’re setting up a new position, trying to fill a gap, or just need someone to point you in the right direction, they’re here to help 💪

20/04/2026

Stronger renal care, right here in the North West 💉🧡

Six of our Mount Isa nurses have just wrapped up specialised haemodialysis training in some of Queensland’s biggest hospitals — and they’re back where they belong, putting those skills to work for our mob.

Through a cross-hospital partnership with Townsville Hospital and Health Service and Metro South Health, they’ve been hands-on in high-acuity renal units, learning the ins and outs of complex dialysis care alongside specialist teams. Now they’re bringing that knowledge home, helping deliver more care closer to home 🙌

This isn’t our first rodeo either. We’ve done this before, and it works. Instead of relying on short-term fixes, we’re backing our own people and building a workforce that knows the North West, lives the North West, and cares for the North West.

Skilled locals. Stronger care. 👏

20/04/2026

Righto Mount Isa… explain yourself 😭
Underground blasts are back or is it just someone’s stomach grumbling because they’ve missed out on a Dubai cup from KIK BAK CAFE again?? 😜
Check in - where did you feel it?? 📍👇

17/04/2026

🎉 Welcome Baby to Community – Birth Registration Event 🎉

📅 Tuesday 9 June 2026
📍 Buchanan Park, Mount Isa
🕙 10am – 12pm

Get your bub's FREE birth certificate application done on the day – and enjoy a free BBQ lunch, cultural activities, face painting, kids activities and baby-friendly giveaways while you're at it! Don't forget your ID - a full list can be found when scanning the QR code.

Transport available if you need a lift. Just bring your ID and your beautiful bub!

Scan the QR code on the flyer to let us know you're coming. 📲. We can't wait to celebrate your little one - we’d love to see you there! 🌟

16/04/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Janelle Stuart Russell 🌟

Meet Janelle, Clinical Facilitator on the Surgical Ward and recently appointed NWHHS Board Member 👏

On any given day, you’ll find Janelle supporting nurses on the floor, guiding staff through training, and always bringing a smile to patients' faces.

What keeps her going after all these years?
“The variety — no day is the same,” she says. “I love working alongside both our young nurses and our experienced staff, and helping people build their skills and confidence.”

Originally from Brisbane, Janelle and her family have spent years “walkabout” across Queensland, with Janelle working in 11 different Queensland Health hospitals along the way! and we’ve managed to claim her as one of our own in the North West. 💪

For Janelle, patient care comes down to something simple: listening.

“I imagine what it would be like if it was Aunty or one of our kids in that bed,” she says. “A cup of tea and taking the time to listen can fix most things before they become a problem.”

She believes good care is a two-way street; where patients feel heard, informed and part of the decision-making process.

“Sometimes it’s the small things,” Janelle says. “A cup of tea, a sandwich, making sure the buzzer is within reach, or just asking ‘is there anything else we can do?’ that’s what makes people feel comfortable.” ...though she’ll admit a bit of white chocolate from a grateful patient never hurts 🍫

Her approach has made a real difference. In one instance, Janelle helped a patient return home to country for palliative care, coordinating with another health service to make it happen. “It’s about doing what’s right for the patient,” she says.

Her advice for patients?
“Be involved in your care. If you don’t understand something, ask. And if you don’t get an answer, ask again.”

From the ward floor to the Board table, Janelle brings the same approach: practical, compassionate, and always putting people first.

Thanks for everything you do, Janelle 💚👏

14/04/2026

🎉 Big welcome to our new and returning Board members!

We’ve got a fresh nine-person Board ready to help shape the future of health care across North West Queensland and it’s a seriously impressive lineup 🙌

Led by Chair Tanya Arnold (a familiar face who knows the North West inside and out), this team brings together experience across clinical care, research, leadership and rural and remote health, all focused on keeping care strong and close to home.

We’re thrilled to have some familiar faces sticking around, with Anne Pleash stepping up as Deputy Chair, alongside returning members Bill Armagnacq, Loretta Seamer, Tonya Murray and Fiona Hill. Continuity + experience = a win for our communities 👏

And of course, a big welcome to our new members Janelle Stuart-Russell, Professor John Prins and Dr Robin Williams, bringing decades of knowledge across frontline care, research, education and rural medicine 💡

We also want to give a huge thank you to outgoing Chair Cheryl Vardon AO and Deputy Chair Professor Eleanor Milligan for their leadership and impact ,you’ve left big boots to fill 🧡

This is a Board that truly understands the North West and we’re excited for what’s ahead.

🔗 Full Board bios: https://buff.ly/PZLkfP4

08/04/2026

🌟 Staff Spotlight: Emma 🌟

Meet Emma, Registered Nurse, currently celebrating five years in her role at NWHHS (six in June — but who’s counting 😉).

Originally from Brisbane’s Redlands, Emma graduated nursing in 2003 and has now spent more than 20 years in the profession. After working in major hospitals including PA and Redlands, life (or a husband) took her remote and eventually to Cloncurry.

And she’s never looked back.

“I woke up this morning after a few days off and thought, I don’t mind going back to work,” Emma says. “After 20-something years, that’s a pretty good place to be.”

For Emma, rural and remote nursing is what keeps the job exciting.

“You see such a broad range of things. No day is ever the same. It’s new patients, new people, new things you’re learning all the time. If you did the same thing every day for 20 years, it would get boring, but this never is.”

Moving from coastal living to the outback was a cultural adjustment.

“I didn’t know what a governess was. I didn’t know what a ringer was. I didn’t know anything about cows,” she laughs. “It’s been a big learning curve... even country fashion took some getting used to.”

But it’s that difference that’s broadened her skills, from everyday nursing care to the more “interesting” injuries that come with rodeo season.

Outside of work, Emma is happiest outdoors. Paddleboarding at the lake, running, camping and hosting dinner parties with friends are her go-to ways to unwind. She loves the strong sense of community that comes with small-town life.

After more than two decades in nursing, Emma still enjoys coming to work. And in a profession that demands so much, that says a lot.

Thanks for everything you do, Emma 🧡

01/04/2026

From Deadly Start student to future community nurse 🤍

Meet Melinda Burns, one of our Deadly Start Skill-Based Trainees.

Inspired by her Aunty, who worked in healthcare for 55 years, Melinda knew she wanted to follow a similar path and give back to her community.

When the hospital team visited her school to run an information session, something clicked.

“It felt like a good pathway to take.”

Now, Melinda splits her time between school and the hospital, working Mondays from 7am to 3:30pm — and often putting in extra study time to stay on top of her learning.

Her first day? A little overwhelming.

Coming from a small town to the pace of Mount Isa Hospital was a big shift.

“Everybody knew what they were doing, and I was kind of just standing there not knowing what to do.”

But she stuck with it.

Since starting, Melinda has learned how to read observations, present handover, work as part of a team and build confidence speaking in front of others.

She credits the support of staff and mentors for helping her settle in — picking up practical tips, building skills and always encouraging her to ask questions.

“Don’t guess. Definitely ask if you’re not sure.”

When asked to describe her traineeship in one word? Exciting.

For Melinda, the program isn’t just work experience — it’s a stable pathway and a glimpse into a future career in healthcare.

And when she finishes her traineeship and heads to university?

She plans to return home to Normanton to work in community nursing.

Full circle. 🤍

We’re proud to support the next generation of healthcare workers through our Deadly Start program.

Address

30 Camooweal Street
Mount Isa, QLD
4825

Telephone

+61747444444

Website

http://www.northwest.health.qld.gov.au/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when North West Hospital and Health Service posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to North West Hospital and Health Service:

Shortcuts

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in Mount Isa?

North West Hospital and Health Service

01/05/2026

30/04/2026

29/04/2026

23/04/2026

22/04/2026

20/04/2026

20/04/2026

17/04/2026

16/04/2026

14/04/2026

08/04/2026

01/04/2026

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Practice

Shortcuts

Share

Category