Humanitarian

Exqisit Life Foundation

Set up by Dr John and Eli McIntosh, this registered charity has the commitment to improve and support the community in it’s medical and mental health needs. Under this charity, extensive public education and community support processes have been provided including the TUFMINDS – Life Rescue App, a mental wellbeing and suicide intervention program.

TUFMINDS – Life Rescue

This App is a mental wellbeing and suicide intervention program created by Drs Eli and John McIntosh. The content and depth took several years to create and was fully funded by these generous doctors – so that the community can benefit! This program increases mental resilience, creates a powerful positive mindset and increases understanding and willingness for individuals to step in a save lives when suicidal risk is present.

Mental Health Humanitarian Work

Free Mental Health Services - To address the serious lack of mental services in the community, Dr McIntosh offers free access to mental health patients at the City Superclinic, Mackay. To achieve this the doctors in the City Superclinic are upskilled to allow them to manage the higher patients that the public sector is unable to service due to their excess workload. This service is provided without any cost and makes a huge difference to help this extremely disadvantaged group especially when many practices are unable or unwilling to take on this workload.

Drug and Alcohol addiction issues are another area where Dr McIntosh has provides practical community-based solutions and services at no cost to patients. He also set up the community based acute detox service for ICE and other drugs which was a big step as the ICE epidemic cuts through the country. This operates out of the City Superclinic with doctors here specifically upskilled to manage these patients effectively.

Residential Drug Rehab – He also provides a no cost service to the only residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation service in Mackay, when no other doctors were willing to provide this service. He provides the complete medical supervision of the rehab service on an ongoing basis.

Due to the lack of residential rehab in Australia and failure to achieve approvals for multiple sites across Australia, he and his wife have also set up a service in Lombok / Bali, Indonesia called Eden Medical Retreat. This high-level service provides residential rehab for drug and alcohol problems to provide an avenue of recovery for anyone committed to getting clean.

Overseas Aid Work

Dr John and Eli McIntosh provided aid work to the remote islands of Vanuatu over two years in 2003 and 2004 as the lead doctor with Project MARC (medical assistance to remote communities). This included direct services, teaching local workers, building health clinics (including carrying rocks and mixing cement) and long hikes into the bush to access the distant communities.

They also provided aid to the remote islands across Indonesia and support to orphanages in Lombok and Bali.

Their TUF Minds program was also donated to the Kerobokan Prison, Bali’s infamous prison to support inmates with their mental health and to assist with overcoming addictions.

Dr John has also worked in Leprosy Hospitals in Nepal, in mission hospitals in Africa and delivered aid and support to the Solomon Islands and after the devastating earthquake in Lombok in 2018.

One Stop Youth Shop (YIRS – youth info and referral service)

Dr John was the key medical provider to set this important community service up to assist eh homeless and disadvantaged youth. Despite ongoing funding difficulties, this service provided very valuable services on an ongoing basis and Dr John was chair or on the board as well as providing direct free medical services for 10 years.

Mater Private GP After Hours Service

This was another community service that Dr John set up single handedly and then gave the ownership of the entity to the GPs in the community. After hours cover was producing significant GP stress and burnout and threatened the workforce, so this cooperative service provided the solution to provide higher quality care and manageable lifestyles for the doctors. Dr John continued to run the service for 20 years as Chairman under the direction of the GP community.

This was model was self funded and so successful that it was copied in multiple regions around the country.

Community Development Work

GP Locum Service - Dr John understood the problem of lack of holiday support for regional GPs in Australia so set up the GP locum service that effectively provided locum and holiday relief for local GPs. The doctors recruited also formed the basis of the future medical workforce in the regions and under Dr McIntosh’s systems over 50 doctors were recruited to the Mackay Region alone. This legacy continues, and these doctors have formed the basis of a sound workforce for the future.

Vaccination Processes - Dr John set up systems for all practices and nurse injectors to increase vaccination rates. These systems were so successful that Mackay region achieved the highest vaccinations rates in Queensland and the 5th highest in Australia. Dr McIntosh also received an award from Dr Michael Woolridge for this achievement.

Other Community Programs and Education – Dr McIntosh also developed and ran Asthma education program for schools, a weekly “Medical Talkback” on the ABC, the ATSI after hours emergency service and computerisation programs for the local GPs. Dr McIntosh and made formal presentations to the Dept of Health regarding innovative new items numbers for practice nurses and vaccination incentives that were instituted and changed the landscape of general practice for the better.