Company Profile

Established in 1997 North Queensland X-Ray Services (NQXS) have been servicing the Far Northern community of Queensland Australia for nearly 10 years. Our core business is Diagnostic Imaging for patients who have been referred from General Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals or Medical Specialists.

Since inception NQXS has challenged the belief that diagnostic clinics are cold and impersonal, and we are pleased to note that others have done the same. While our core business is in imaging, our focus is squarely on providing sound customer care. Central to this is our decision to bulk bill. While others are bulk billing some services in North Queensland, NQXS are the only provider to bulk bill all of our services^*.

By removing monetary restrictions patients are referred according to health concerns or clinical indications, without concern for their financial status. We are proud to provide such a broad level of access and in doing so NQXS has become an essential health provider for the region.

With clinics established in Cairns and Townsville and satellite services on the Tablelands and Thursday Island, we have grown from one clinic to five private clinics in the last nine years. Each clinic offers its own range of services, the details of which can be viewed by clicking here.

“Queensland is the most decentralised state in mainland Australia”

Within the state of Queensland, more than half of the population live and work in regional areas¹. Our expansion therefore reflects a growing population. According to the Bureau of Statistics, in 1997 our regional population was 408,530 people. In contrast, 2006 sees an estimated 450,203 people calling North Queensland home².

With an extra 42,000 people in the area, and a decentralised health network state-wide, our service is vital to the health of Queensland as a whole - a role we recognise comes with great responsibility.

In addition to expanding our sites we have therefore committed to capital investments - both in technology and in the medical expertise of our staff - to ensure we provide you with the very best.

In the area of technology we have grown to provide diagnostic imaging in six major modalities. These include Computed Tomography (CT), General X-Ray, Ultrasound, Mammography, Echocardiography and Bone Densitometry. And in the year ending 30 June 2006 we invested more than $2 million into technology upgrades.

But we're not stopping there. Further investments are planned and include:

• The pursuit of advances in teleradiology
• The installation of computed radiology in all general x-ray rooms
• The installation of advanced echocardiographic software
• The replacement of ultrasound film with digital imaging

With capital investment comes growth — both in capacity and demand — so we've also invested in growing our staff. We now employ close to sixty people, and they all live locally with our referrers and our patients. With specialists in radiology, radiography, sonography and administration, our staff are trained and accredited professionals who pride themselves on providing you with personal care and attention.

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Facility Accreditations

RANZCR Quality & Accreditation Program

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) has awarded North Queensland X-Ray Services Stage 2 Accreditation in the areas of Radiological Imaging, Diagnostic Mammography, Bone Densitometry and Diagnostic Ultrasound. This accreditation is reviewed annually by the college.

Nuchal Translucency Accreditation

All sonographers performing Nuchal procedures have attended specialised training in Nuchal Translucency Ultrasound. This is in accordance with regulations set by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics & Gynaecology (RANZCOG).

At present, two of our Sonographers are fully accredited while a third has completed the theoretical component of their training and is awaiting certification of their practical skills.

Dr Malcolm J Hudson and Dr Jacqui Stumpel are personally accredited and registered with the Fetal Medicine Foundation (FMF), London, U.K. for the sonological reporting of Nuchal Translucency Ultrasound.

The continued registration of each Sonographer and Sonologist requires that their results be audited every six months. To ensure compliance with accreditation and audit requirements, our Sonographers use only the software provided by FMF for the interpretation of results.

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Key Staff Profiles

All our staff have achieved specialist qualifications in their chosen field.

John Gibb Director	Having completed his training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia, John has worked as a Diagnostic Radiographer for over 40 years. During that time he has held the position of Chief Radiographer at: Repatriation General Hospital, Adelaide, SA Woden Valley Hospital, Canberra, ACT Cairns Base Hospital, Cairns, QLD Cairns Diagnostic Imaging, Cairns, QLD John joined NQXS as Director in early 1997 when the company was in its infancy. Over the last 10 years he has guided its expansion from a single general x-ray room in Cairns to a multi-site, multi-modality practice with rooms in Cairns and Townsville.
Dr Malcolm J Hudson Radiologist	Born and schooled in Auckland, Malcolm obtained his medical degree through the University of Auckland (1986) and post-graduate radiology fellowship from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (1993). He worked initially in Queensland before taking up a consultant position as a General Radiologist with Waitemata Health on Auckland's north shore. Sessional work with the private practice Mercy Radiology (aka NZ Radiology Group) was soon added, which became fulltime in 1997. He developed special areas of expertise in paediatric imaging, obstetric scanning and mammography. Further training in Nuclear Medicine was undertaken, including a preceptorship working under Dr Henry Wagner at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, leading to subspecialty practice in early 1998. This coincided with the unveiling of NZ Medical Imaging, a branch of Syncor International, where Malcolm was the principle licensee. In November 2001 Malcolm left Auckland to join North Queensland X-ray Services in Cairns. Trans-Tasman links were maintained with the establishment of Auckland X-ray Services in mid 2003. Cardiac echo has been a recent addition to his post graduate studies, enabling NQXS to introduce its echo service in late 2004. Malcolm is often accompanied on his travels (and on the golf course!) by his wife of 25 years, Paula. Their two sons pursue education in Auckland.
Dr Jacqui Stumpel Radiologist	Schooled in Otago, New Zealand, Jacqui is a General Radiologist with a background in Cardiac Imaging, Vascular Imaging & Intervention, Body CT and Gynaecology & Obstetrics. Over the last 10 - 12 years she has developed a subspecialty interest in Head and Neck Imaging (ORL). For most of her post-graduate career, Jacqui has worked at Green Lane Hospital and the National Women's Hospital (both in Auckland) as a consultant radiologist. She has also worked part-time in private practice for the last 7 years. Jacqui joined North Queensland X-Ray Services in January 2006.
Travis Scott Operations Manager	Born and bred in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales (NSW), Travis completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Diagnostic Radiography) at the Charles Sturt University in 1992. On completion of his degree, he took the position of Staff Radiographer at Westmead Teaching Hospital in Sydney, NSW. During that appointment, he completed his Professional Development Year (PDY) in what was the inaugural PDY program for NSW. Through the PDY program, Travis became proficient in General & Dental Radiography, Computed Tomography (CT) & Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Since that time, he has achieved several advances in his career: Sole Radiographer at Warwick District Health Service (1995) Completed the QUT Graduate Diploma of Medical Ultrasound (1998) Consolidated ultrasound skills through employment at Queensland X-Ray Services in Warwick and Toowoomba, gaining experience from sonographers such as Lucia Pemble Joined Specialised Health Services to provide locum relief radiography and ultrasound services to rural Queensland (1999) In 2001, Travis settled in Cairns to take up the role of Chief Sonographer for North Queensland X-Ray Services. This provided a wide range of ultrasound experience with particular emphasis on musculoskeletal and vascular sonography. As Operations Manager for North Queensland X-Ray Services, Travis is based in Townsville and oversees a staff of 60 across the NQXS group.

*Procedures are bulk billed in accordance with the guidelines provided by Medicare Australia, as determined and advised by the Australian Health Insurance Commission (HIC).

¹Source: OESR Information Brief, Regional Population Growth: 2004-05. ABS 3218.0 Released 10:30am AEST, 23 February 2006.

²Source: Queensland Government Population Projections 2003, Office of Economic and Statistical Research. Estimated population is as at 30 June 1997 and 30 June 2006 for the combined Northern and Far Northern Statistical Divisions as defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.