The Northern Territory Convention Bureau (NTCB) recently hosted nine specialist conference decision makers to the Top End in order to showcase Darwin’s cutting edge strengths in the health and medical sector, especially in the areas of tropical, indigenous and remote health.
The four day program enabled the famil participants to network with their sector peers in the Northern Territory whilst visiting leading health sector facilities and also viewing Darwin’s impressive business events infrastructure.
The famil participants, who came from Melbourne, Hobart, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide, represented a broad cross-section of professional medical associations, colleges and societies.
The technical tour component of the program encompassed some of the Northern Territory’s leading health sector operations. These included Darwin’s globally-recognised National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre (NCCTRC), located at Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH). This centre was developed in 2005 to respond to incidents which pose significant health threats, with its geographic location making it Australia’s first responder to major onshore and offshore incidents in Australia and South East Asia. The NCCTRC also undertakes research into maximising disaster response capability, performance and disaster information management.
The group also visited Northern Territory Radiation Oncology which provides the very latest in radiation and chemotherapy treatments for patients from throughout the NT, as well as those from East Timor. Famil participants also undertook a walk-through of the workshops at HPA Disability Services, a non-government, not-for-profit organisation which provides services to Territorians who have an intellectual, physical or mental disability.
The site visit to CareFlight Northern Operations (NT) headquarters enabled the famil participants to learn about this critical care aeromedical retrieval service which operates in the Top End and SE Asia, with the visit also highlighting how technical tours and field visits can be so easily aligned to match a business event held in Darwin.
World Federation of Neuroscience Nurses vice president Vicki Evans said, “To have a site visit that was filled with interesting medical visits, some of which are found only in the outback, was much appreciated. Anyone can have a conference in the big cities of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, but to have one in Darwin gives you the added extra of an experience like no other.”
A social program highlight of the visit was the opportunity to attend the official opening ceremony of the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Awards which were held at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
The itinerary also included a visit to the iconic Crocosaurus Cove attraction in the Darwin CBD, a boat cruise across the harbour to the famous Mindil Beach Sunset Markets, a fun Segway tour of the Botanic Gardens and a visit to the recently-opened Royal Flying Doctor Service Tourist Facility at Stokes Hill Wharf. Enjoying sunset drinks and canapes at Parliament House was another VIP inclusion and showcased the strong local support for business events.
The visitors stayed at the Hilton Darwin and also visited the two DoubleTree by Hilton properties, as well as a wide range of other accommodation options throughout the compact city. The impressive harbour-front Darwin Convention Centre was naturally a venue of great interest to the planners and hosted one of the luncheons, as did the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Darwin.
