Wollongong-based pharma company leads events refocusing on veteran health and wellbeing

A series of Veterans’ Health Week events are set to shine a spotlight back on the needs of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) community in the Illawarra Shoalhaven area from 13-20 October.

Hosted by Wollongong-based Australian and veterans-owned pharmaceutical company Provocatus, the events include a workout, yoga, harbour walk and talk, movie night and mental health webinars, tying into the company’s mission to help alleviate the health challenges that can persist long after someone’s service has ended.

Provocatus CEO Kasey Mumford said the company started in 2020, initially as a medicinal cannabis label, and in 2022 set up a compassionate access program to provide GMP certified plant medicines and products specifically for ADF veterans.

Veterans Access Scheme provides access to plant medicines to give veterans immediate treatment at either no cost, or a subsidised rate, while the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) completed their claims assessment process.

“We quickly realised in October 2023 that we needed to expand the program to provide more holistic care for ADF veterans,” Kasey said.

“So we expanded the program to cover what we call four pillars of care – there’s a medication pillar, a pharmaceutical appliance pillar, a clinical wellness pillar, which includes psychology, nursing support and other allied health support, and then also an education pillar.

“We provide education to veterans, their families and their healthcare teams and so I think Veterans’ Health Week fits very neatly into what we’re doing.”

Kasey said the week was also giving the organisation an opportunity to engage more with the Illawarra community.

“We know there are about 6000 ADF veterans in the Illawarra Shoalhaven area, and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of focus on that particular demographic in our area,” she said.

“The theme for Veterans’ Health Week is all about connections and helping veterans to be connected within the community.

“So the activities we have planned really facilitate that and provide an opportunity for veterans to connect with other veterans in the community, but also with some of the businesses and other networks that are available here too.”

Events include a 45-minute Hero Workout at Coal Coast Fitness in Bulli, Harbour Walk and Talk around the Wollongong harbour, movie night at Coledale RSL, Veterans Mental Health Webinar with psychologist Beth Masling and Veterans Yoga at Younga Yoga Studio in Wollongong.

In fact, Younga Yoga Studio co-founder Russell Young served in The Royal Australian Navy, bringing a deep understanding of veterans’ needs to his yoga practice.

That’s also the case for Provocatus, with Kasey starting her career as a maritime warfare officer in the Royal Australian Navy before transitioning to the Navy Health Reserve, and her husband and medical director, Dr Michael Mumford, being an engineer in the army before studying medicine and becoming a GP.

“He set up a practice in Dapto and a lot of former soldiers found him, so they started coming to see him for their healthcare treatment,” she said.

“He observed with a number of them that they’re on a really high number of pain medications.”

She said he didn’t know where to turn, not wanting to keep adding more pain relief and antidepressants.

“He started to look for some other options to treat them, and that’s how he started educating himself on medicinal cannabis as an option and so that’s really the foundations of the company,” she said.

Kasey said as he was looking to expand his practice to include medicinal cannabis, one of his former soldier patients, who was on large amounts of pain relief medication, took their own life.

“That was really the catalyst for our company being launched, and then it’s evolved since then.”

With the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide highlighting the need for better access to comprehensive healthcare tailored to veterans’ unique needs, Kasey said they were in a fortunate position to be able to help veterans now through the Veteran Access Scheme.

She said by providing a comprehensive healthcare framework, it removed barriers to treatment, ensured affordable care, and empowered veterans to take control of their health journeys.

Community of Practice meetings are also run every two months by Dr Mumford for doctors to discuss any issue arising in their practice related to veteran care.

“Dealing with DVA patients and veteran patients is another thing that doctors have to learn,” she said.

“It’s like a completely separate healthcare system, so the burden of caring for veterans across Australia tends to fall onto the shoulders of a few. A lot of those are ex-ADF doctors, or doctors who have an interest in veteran healthcare.

“It’s important that there’s a greater level of education provided, so that any veteran can walk into any doctor in their local community, and the doctor will understand that healthcare.”

Book for Provocatus-hosted Veterans’ Health Week activities or find other Illawarra events on the DVA website.

If this story has raised any issues for you, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467, the Defence All-hours Support Line on 1800 628 036, Open Arms on 1800 011 046 or Soldier On, 1300 620 380.