A Queensland high school is the first in the state to have a doctor onsite to help students with their overall wellbeing, and in turn boost their academic performance.

Key points: Mabel Park State High School is the first school in Queensland to have a GP on campus

Mabel Park State High School is the first school in Queensland to have a GP on campus Parents make appointments for their children online

Parents make appointments for their children online The school has seen an increase in academic performance since implementing the project

Mabel Park State High School at Slacks Creek, 20 kilometres south of Brisbane, started the project six months ago after seeing similar projects overseas and in Victoria.

Partnering with the University of Queensland (UQ) Health Care, students can gain access to a GP clinic within the school once a week.

Mabel Park State High principal Mick Hornby said the changes to the students have been remarkable.

"There was one student who we struggled to engage in learning and his parents couldn't get him to a doctor, so I saw it as my role as a principal to creating a learning environment," Mr Hornby told ABC Radio Brisbane's Rebecca Levingston.

"My teachers couldn't teach him, as medically there were health issues, so that really pushed us to find a solution."

Encouragement for those 'least likely to see a doctor'

Medical Director for Integrated Care at Children's Health Queensland, Dana Newcomb, loved the GP-in-schools idea so much that she came on board as the in-school doctor.

"Adolescence is the time when many adult physical and mental health problems begin to emerge, and yet young people aged 12 to 17 are the least likely of any age group to see a GP," Dr Newcomb said.

Dr Dana Newcomb sees students each week on campus at Mabel State High School. ( Facebook: Children's Health Queensland )

"The reasons for this can be cost, lack of transport, embarrassment or a desire for confidentiality from parents. Sometimes it's just not knowing how the health system works.

"Mabel Park is a school where these challenges are compounded for many families, and we have kids whose ability to learn is being impacted by not being able to access health care."

The school setting includes over 70 different cultures with large Indigenous, refugee and Polynesian backgrounds.

Mr Hornby said students could use the service as they saw fit, for mental health issues, vaccinations and more, with appointments booking out each week.

"When we did research we found that for students it was mental health, but we also had a trip for our children to Samoa, so she did all the travel vaccinations — we have found benefits across the board," Mr Hornby said.

Giving parents a helping hand

The system sees parents book appointments for their children online via UQ Health Care, with most appointments made outside of class time where possible.

Dr Newcomb hoped that by having a GP at school, even if it is only one day a week, it will enable many of the children to get the care they may miss out on.

"I've noticed it's also an enormous help to some parents, and it means they don't need to take time off work, or bundle younger children into the car, to get their child to the doctor," she said.

When it came to speaking to the students, Dr Newcomb said often it takes a couple of appointments for them to establish trust.

"I have some students coming to see me with minor physical problems, and I think they are really checking me out to see if I'm friendly and trustworthy," she said.

"They will often then come back with the courage to raise their real concerns, which often relate to mental health issues, or relationships, or even substance use."

Principal Mick Hornby hopes other schools will look at the model. ( ABC Radio Brisbane: Jessica Hinchliffe )

"The pressures teenagers are under is huge and I think if we can help with that, and the GP has that early intervention, it allows them to learn," Mr Hornby said.

"The massive increase in mental health issues exists not only in society but here in the school setting."

A purpose-built room to health specifications was built on the school campus allowing students to visit the GP without the need for parents to organise pick-ups or travel.

The appointments are bulk billed resulting in no cost to the school.

Inside Mabel Park State High School GP surgery. ( Supplied: Mabel Park State High School )

"The parent community have embraced it and loved it and it's helped them immensely when it comes to the travel and the cost that's need to do go the doctor," Mr Hornby said.

He added that students from diverse backgrounds had found the clinic especially useful as it allowed them to talk about their issues, as well as receive the healthcare they would often overlook.

Bringing GPs into school

Mr Hornby said there was a lot of policy and work done with stake holders, including Queensland Health and Education Queensland, before the GP office opened its doors.

Prior to the project, he travelled to places where similar projects had been rolled out and also studied research undertaken in New Zealand which proved that once a GP was placed in a school, it contributed to greater academic performance.

"We were lucky with the people we lobbied to and we came together, I know politicians cop their fair share, but everyone could see the moral purpose and the benefits of this for us," he said.

"UQ Health Care is looking to continue research around the model and I believe that our model works better than the Victorian model that was implemented."

He hopes their model will pave the way for other schools across the country.