Indigenous elderly die away from families

Elderly people in remote indigenous communities on the northernmost tip of Queensland are dying at facilities far away from their families.

There's no aged-care facility to service the five communities in the Northern Peninsula Area and home carers can only look after the elderly up to a point.

Anyone in need of respite care is shipped off across the sea to Thursday Island in the Torres Strait.

The Star of the Sea facility is impressive, but it's a long way from home and the travel costs make it near impossible for family members to visit regularly.

Injinoo carer Joyce Socki told AAP the area was in desperate need of a nursing home for the elderly, "so the people, when they get old, can be cared for here in their own communities".

When their families were close to them, she said, they could visit them every day.

Ms Socki, a carer at the NPA council-run Home and Community Care program, said elderly people's condition deteriorated quickly when they were away from their families.

Most did not have extended family members on the island to fill in, she said.

Ms Socki works full-time along with five other carers, taking care of about 20 people in the NPA - doing their washing, shopping and taking them on outings.

She said she was paid $22 an hour, but years ago, she was paid $30 an hour as a carer in Cairns.

She raised it with the council, but was told that was how much it could afford.

Ms Socki is an enrolled nurse with several other diplomas and has taken on the role because her mother and aunt are in need of care.

"I've shifted jobs so that I can cater for my family members," she said, adding that the area had a strong sense of community.

"Everybody looks after one another, no matter where we are or what community we're from."

Ms Socki tried to raise the issues with Prime Minister Tony Abbott at a community meeting in Injinoo on Thursday morning, but said it was hard to get the message across because there were many people with concerns.

Mr Abbott is in the region as part of his promise to spend one week each year in indigenous communities.

On Thursday he opened a new GP clinic with Health Minister Sussan Ley.

Patricia Yusia, a director of the Cape York Health Council, said the non-government clinic was set up to bring health services to the community in order to allay fears about Western medicine.

"We have a lot of death here and we just want to make sure they're not scared to approach the doctor," she said, adding that the fear developed from a lack of knowledge about medicines.

The clinic will focus on chronic illness, mental illness, and drugs and alcohol, and also offer standard GP services.

A program will complement conventional medicine with traditional indigenous healing methods.

"A lot of people are superstitious or they are true believers of their culture," Ms Yusia said.

"We'll try to work with them and get them to understand what Western medicine is."

The centre mainly employs indigenous people and Ms Yusia said one of the main aims was finding employment for the community.