Access to healthcare is considered a fundamental human right. But for many people, it's not a reality.
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For just over a year a free drop-in service has been working to bridge the gap in healthcare for some of the community's most vulnerable.
Mission Health is a collaboration between City Mission, the University of Tasmania's School of Nursing and Tasprac.
Coronavirus: All the latest updates on COVID-19 for Tasmania
With between 20 to 30 clients seen each month, registered nurse Michele Dowlman said it catered for many people in the community who have become disenfranchised.
"Unfortunately the structural nature of our health system at present is not meeting the needs of all our citizens in Australia. That's the bottom line," she said.
"In big cities there might be many more bulk billing opportunities, but the reality is in rural or regional communities of Australia, bulk billing rates have dropped dramatically.
"This puts enormous pressure on people who are living precariously. People who do not have much money at all."
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Every Thursday Mission Health offers a range of free services for those who would otherwise go without, including general health assessments, chronic health management, sexual health testing and immunisations.
City Mission client services operations manager Ray Green said it was clear the service was needed.
"It was one of those services we recognised we needed to try to keep going," he said.
"It's primarily used by clients who have struggled to access mainstream health services. They might not even have a GP or they might have some concerns or difficulties making appointments or getting to them.
"So having a drop in service where they can show up and talk to someone is really valuable."
Nurse Practitioner Jane Laidlaw works alongside Ms Dowlman to deliver the clinics and said while its first year had been successful, they were only just scratching the surface.
"I believe we have come a long way. At the start, we might have seen a couple of patients. But now every week, we are full," she said.
"We are developing real links in the community and we are doing some really important work. I think we need to look more closely at where our system is failing these people. We need to bring some kindness back.
"To ask, how can we as a whole group, bring some dignity, hope and a future to these people."
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Jessica Willard
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
Being a health reporter to me is about more than just reporting the problems. It's about asking why they are happening in the first place and what needs to change to fix it.
