.png)
Our team recently caught up with Dr Matt Young, one of the founders of our most recent Partner Kombi Clinic, to get an update on their work and the impact of the $11,00 donation we made in July!
Kombi Clinic is an outreach clinic offering Hepatitis C testing and treatment, founded by 2 GPs from Brisbane, Joss Loan and Matt Young. They focus on finding and serving vulnerable members of the community who are at elevated risk and don't readily engage with the mainstream medical system. You can find their clinics in soup kitchens, prisons and parole centres around South East Queensland and beyond.
Hep C - an important infection affecting many Australians
Hepatitis C is a blood borne virus infecting the liver, carried lifelong if left untreated. It is commonly spread by unsafe use of needles in the setting of tattoos or drug use. Chronic Hep C leads to to liver cirrhosis in 30% of carriers and hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) in 5%.
Treatment has progressed a long way in the last decade, and new tablet antiviral treatments allow 98% cure rates! About 1% of Australians are estimated to be living with Hep C. At Kombi clinic, these rates are much, much higher- more than 10% in those sleeping rough, and 40% in prison populations! Despite this prevalence and an easily available (PBS-funded) treatment, a large proportion of of Australian GP’s have admitted to never treating a case.
According to Matt, "Hepatitis C is both rampant and ridiculously curable!".
People on the streets or in prison or otherwise vulnerable are at severe risk of never seeking treatment for their Hep C, explains Matt. The people in these populations often feel judgement and embarrassment seeking help, with prejudice a huge barrier to care. Other issues include tricky vascular access, and a lack of followup. This stops them from presenting to traditional healthcare settings such as GP clinics and hospitals, and stymies the followup required to act on a diagnosis.
How Does Kombi Clinic Work?
The team at the Kombi Clinic head out in their distinctive Kombi van, running clinics on a Thursday morning in a wide variety of place including homeless missions, soup kitchens and parole centres, all whilst wearing Hawaiian shirts and bringing a friendly, nonjudgemental energy.
They bring along nurses (led by the legendary Mim!), medical students and an ace phlebotomist, as well as volunteers who help screen patients and run the GeneXpert machine. Just as importantly, the team are there to share a yarn and a cup of tea at the same time!
The team can run a rapid fingerprick test for Hepatitis C using on-site (or in-van) GeneXpert testing, then offer treatment on the spot. With a highly effective treatment there is no no need for formal follow up once a patient has been prescribed the free 3 month course of daily medication.
They've also expanded to stints in prisons around Queensland, where they park up for a week or more and test-and-treat the entire prison prison population! These trips can be hugely meaningful for patients who are chronically exposed to a high risk environment for Hep C, and may not even know they are infected.
Kombi Clinic's aim is to offer healthcare within people’s own environment, where they feel comfortable, and to take the stuffiness of modern medicine out of the equation, further incentivised by donated grocery vouchers and free hampers of essential items offered out of the van.
They move from location to location every few months with the aim to greatly reduce the rate of Hepatitis C in this population and reduce the rate of new infections. According to Matt, the fact that they've seen extremely high rates of hepatitis C in these populations is proof that they have been “fishing in the right pond”.
How One For Health is making a difference
One of the biggest challenges is the cost of consumables. Each PCR test cartridge for Hepatitis C antibody cost around $15. With our funds, Kombi Clinic can screen and treat more than 700 people for hepatitis C. We’re so excited to be helping to fund these legends who are fighting to bring Australia closer to the WHO 2030 target of worldwide hepatitis C cure.
So what’s next for the team at Kombi Clinic? They’re aiming to extend their services to a wider population over the next years and are even looking at bringing hepatitis C treatment to some of our closest neighbours such as East Timor, where there is a single centre in the entire country with the capability to test for Hepatitis C. We’re looking forward to working with them in the future.
Our Director Ollie made it out to a recent shift, where he lent a hand (and some pretty average chat) and was inspired by how approachable and dedicated the team were.
Learn More or Get Involved
If you're a giver and want to get involved, the team are always looking for medical and non-medical manpower to help them on the ground at one of their clinics.
See more from the team at Kombi Clinic at their website and reach out to them (or us) if you’d be interested in helping out on a shift!
Thanks to all our givers for your ongoing support. We’re accepting application for our next giving cycle partner until December 5, and we're excited to see the great things we'll accomplish in 2025!
All the best,
Liam
OFH Givers Lead
Comments