After more than a decade of advocacy from patients, family and community leaders, Purple House has officially launched the Community Workforce Pilot Project in Lajamanu, a remote Warlpiri community in the Northern Territory.
The program represents a new way of thinking about healthcare in remote Australia. It recognises community members as leaders, teachers and experts in how best to care for their community.
That vision belongs to the late Warlipri Elder, transplant recipient and Purple House patient preceptor, Mr Ross:
“Our people should be caring for our people.”
For many years, Mr Ross imagined a future where local people worked alongside nurses in the dialysis clinic, caring for family, strengthening cultural safety and sharing knowledge. Today, that vision is becoming reality thanks to funding from National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA).
Designed by community, for community
The program has been shaped by a patient advisory committee, whose clear message was to create meaningful employment opportunities for Indigenous people, develop opportunities for both men and women to meet cultural needs, and ensure patients remain at the centre of decision-making – recognising patients as the experts in how they want to be cared for and what culturally safe healthcare looks like in practice.
“When we keep patients at the centre of everything we do, individuals are strong, families are strong and communities are strong.” Abbey (Program Coordinator)
The pilot project is grounded in Warlpiri knowledge and values. These teachings continue to both guide and ground the project as it evolves:
Two-way learning
The Community Workforce Pilot Project is about much more than training new staff. It challenges traditional ideas about where expertise sits in healthcare.
Dialysis nurses bring clinical knowledge, technical skills and experience navigating complex health systems. Community trainees bring equally important expertise in language, culture, relationships, and traditional ways of working.
“Two way means learning how the nurses teach us and how Aboriginal people teach the nurses how we do things in community. Building something out of nothing, trying to do good things, better things.” Alston (trainee)
Building careers without leaving Country
The pilot will support up to four local trainees through paid employment and on-the-job learning, with guaranteed ongoing employment upon completion.
Importantly, participants can begin their careers without being forced to leave community to work or study – removing one of the biggest barriers to entering the health workforce in remote Australia.
For some trainees, this may be their first paid job. The program also provides practical support to overcome barriers to employment, including assistance with identification and other requirements.
Training is tailored to each person’s strengths and interests while building practical skills across dialysis operations, including setting up and cleaning dialysis machines, supporting patients during treatment and assisting with the day-to-day running of the clinic.
The program also creates opportunities to develop specialised expertise. One applicant expressed an interest in plumbing and water systems, prompting Purple House biomedical engineers to explore training focused on the dialysis water treatment systems. As these skills grow, local staff will play an increasingly important role in maintaining equipment, troubleshooting problems and supporting the clinic’s long-term sustainability.
The first trainee
Alston Wadpur is the first official Dialysis Support Worker Trainee in the program. Alston comes from Pidgeon Hole Community and has family on renal in both Kalkarindji and Lajamanu. He has been learning to set up and clean the machines, weigh patients before and after their treatment, cook them breakfast and looking after the stock.
Alston recently travelled to New Zealand on his first overseas trip to present at the Renal Society of Australasia Conference in Christchurch. “It was great, I was pretty excited, getting to do things in New Zealand, meeting lots of people. Doing the presentation, I was a bit shy, but then got to know everyone a bit better.”
Alston says his biggest challenge has been communication, “bit shy talking to the old people [dialysis patients], getting used to everyone.” He has been loving getting to know lots of people through his work and helping people. Alston’s dream is to “keep working, do better, see how far I go from there.”
“Doesn’t matter who, Purple House helps everyone. They show respect, encourage others, get to know others, helping each other keep each other equal. Try to understand what people are going through and get them on the right track.”
Creating stronger services
The Community Workforce Pilot Project is not only creating employment pathways – it is strengthening remote healthcare.
As new community workforce roles grow, nurses are better supported in their work, helping reduce workforce pressures and improve retention at a time when demand for dialysis services continues to increase. This is particularly important as we prepare to open 14 new dialysis clinics amidst widespread dialysis nurse shortages.
In Lajamanu alone, around 16% of residents over the age of 50 are expected to require renal replacement therapy within the next two years. In line with Purple House’s vision and strategic plan, success ultimately means community ownership:
“For me, a successful community service involves working towards making yourself redundant. By listening to community and supporting the development of the necessary skills and resources the hope is that you can remove yourself from the equation.” Abbey Quonoey (Program Coordinator)
Mr Ross’s legacy
The Community Workforce Pilot Project is still in its early stages, but its ambition reaches far beyond Lajamanu.
The long-term vision is to adapt this model across all Purple House communities, creating local workforce pathways that begin on Country, value cultural knowledge alongside clinical expertise, and position patients as leaders in shaping healthcare. It is a future where communities are not simply receiving healthcare – they are delivering it.
A future built on two-way learning. Built the right way; the Warlpiri way!