The Purple Truck: driving health outcomes in the Western Desert

^{Posted on April 24, 2015}

Andrew Carter, Commercial Eyes’ Managing Director, and our Finance Director, Melissa Sampson-Curry, joined with Katie Whitehead of Medicines Australia to attend the book launch of ‘Patrick Tjungurrayi: Beyond Borders’ last week.

Part biography, part art history, the book focuses on Patrick’s story and involvement with The Purple House, which provides essential dialysis services to remote Indigenous communities in central Australia. Patrick was one of several artists who helped establish remote dialysis services through the sale of their paintings.

Medicines Australia sponsors the mobile component of this vital service, known as The Purple Truck. The highly visible mobile dialysis unit enables dialysis patients to receive the treatment they need from their own remote communities. Patrick himself lives in remote Western Australia and requires dialysis three times a week.

Andrew Carter says, “As a member of Medicines Australia, it was fantastic to hear how our involvement with Medicines Australia is helping rural indigenous patients to receive the treatment they need, at home.”

He says, “The rate of kidney failure in remote desert communities is reported to be at epidemic proportions, between 15 and 30 times the national average. The services provided by The Purple House mean that people don’t have to move away from their support networks to be close to a dialysis machine. This is so important – not only for the patient but for their family and community.”

All proceeds from the sale of the book will support the work of The Purple House in providing dialysis and essential support services to people in central Australia and beyond.

For more information about Medicine Australia’s support of The Purple Truck, click here.

The Purple Truck – sponsored by Medicines Australia – is adorned with Western Desert art by dialysis patients and certainly turns heads.