Street Side Medics turn up for the homeless

Every Monday evening at Manly and Brookvale, the Street Side Medics van shows up for some of our community’s most vulnerable – those experiencing or at risk of homelessness – and provide free, non-confrontational health care to the same level as a standard general practice. 

Dr Daniel Nour, 26, founder of Street Side Medics, has just been awarded one of Australia’s most prestigious awards winning 2022 Young Australian of the Year for his efforts. Dr Nour, a resident in the ICU at Royal North Shore (RNS) Hospital, identified a huge accessibility gap in those experiencing homelessness when it came to receiving basic healthcare. This can be due to things like feeling social stigma, fear of traditional medical outlets or more logistical barriers like lack of documentation or medical history, structured appointment systems or inability to travel. 

Street Side Medics aim to address these hurdles. Medical care is brought directly to those in need, and no one is turned away. The Street Side Medics team have found one of the key reasons people return to their street clinics is to be listened to and shown compassion. “Often people just want to have a chat and be heard”, says volunteer Nathan, a Manly local who put his hand up to help when walking past the clinic van one day. “There’s a contagious, happy energy here.” 

“A lot of people can find medical jargon intimidating”, says Millie, a registered nurse and colleague of Dr Nour at RNS Hospital. Millie explains that some days, most of her time is spent not on clinical work but building rapport and trust with people and then they may ask for their blood pressure or blood sugar to be tested. Millie also highlights the important role reliability plays for these community members, some of whom have no fixed address. “With Street Side Medics being here every Monday at the same time, they have something to rely on.” 

When General Practitioner Dr Esther heard about the organisation (also a RNS Hospital colleague of founder Dr Nour) she was keen to volunteer. “I really wanted to get involved in this as it aligns with my values of integrating with the local community and those who wouldn’t otherwise engage with traditional health providers”, says Dr Esther. 

Street Side Medics run this service out of innovatively designed mobile medical vans. Having launched in 2020, the not-for-profit organisation started out with just one van, but the fleet has recently grown to two, after receiving many generous donations. At each clinic, the van is staffed by a GP, a nurse and/or junior medical officer, a driver, community volunteers and sometimes allied health professionals such as drug and alcohol specialists, podiatrists, physiotherapists and others. 

With their vans being clinically fitted out with pharmaceuticals, ECG machines, pathology testing, vaccination equipment, lung function and ultrasound machines, and privacy curtains, it means patients can receive multiple aspects of care in one place, at one time and with dignity. Patients can also receive on the spot testing for conditions such as diabetes, HIV, Covid-19 as well as expert wound care and specialist referrals (if needed).

After identifying locations with higher populations of homelessness, Street Side Medics has helped hundreds of deserving people – many who may not have sought or received care otherwise. Partnering with other community outlets such as soup kitchens or shelters, Street Side Medics set up their vans alongside these locations to increase visibility, participation and comfort.