Service that goes the extra mile
25/07/2024. By Carmelle Wilkinson.
Founder of Mediserve, Miles Cue.
Long before Curtin nursing graduate Miles Cue founded reputable nursing agency Mediserve in 1999 with his business partner (who is a medical doctor), there was a part of him that didn’t know what he wanted to do when he left school.
“My parents were supportive of whatever I chose to do. They suggested I become a priest at one point, but there was never any pressure to achieve a higher education.
“I ultimately ended up studying nursing at Curtin because my aunties were nurses.”
Following his graduation and then a postgraduate degree in occupational health and safety, Miles was eager to land a job at the mines so he could help his family.
Originally from the Philippines, Miles and his family migrated to Albany, WA when Miles was three years old.
Miles with his siblings.
“It wasn’t always easy for my parents, and they worked really hard to provide for us,’’ he said.
“My parents have always been wonderful role models to my sisters and I. They have always helped others and definitely passed on those values to us all.
“Our mum was the heart and strength of our family and when she passed away last year, we continued to assist one of the charity organisations she was heavily involved with.
“Operation Rainbow, provides surgical and medical care to children of the Philippines with cleft palates, who have limited or no access to treatment.”
Married with four children of his own, Miles is committed to instilling the value of service with his sons and daughters.
As a community focused company, Mediserve support a number of charitable causes in Australia and internationally, including funding a medical clinic in Nairobi, Kenya and sponsoring orphans in conjunction with Udayan Care in India.
“We want to make a positive difference. To our nurses, the Nurse Managers and Directors that allow us to assist them with their staffing needs, families and communities,’’ he said.
It’s this deep desire to lend a hand and make a difference that ultimately makes Mediserve so unique.
“Our point of difference, is that we always strive to offer the very best personalised level of care and service,’’ he said.
“From my first job as a nurse in Laverton in rural WA, to working in the ED at Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital, and especially now as co-founder of a nursing agency, I always want to provide the highest possible level of service.
“Mediserve really is an extension of who my business partners and I are. We pride ourselves on having integrity and we want our nurses and health professionals to know they can trust us to always do the right thing by them.”
Miles with colleagues at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
Both from humble backgrounds, Miles said he wasn’t one to shy away from hard work and go that extra mile.
“In our early years, one of our nurses Uta, missed her flight to a rural hospital in WA, so I decided to take my dad’s car (without him knowing) and drive her there with a close colleague. It took about 16 hours, and we ran out of petrol along the way at 2am which was scary,’’ he laughed.
“We got there in the end and Uta arrived just in time for her 9pm night shift. The Director of the hospital was delighted and shocked to see us with the nurse as they were very short staffed.”
And there are plenty more stories like these.
Hearing Miles talk about Mediserve, you quickly realise this isn’t just another nursing agency.
“Our nurses and staff are like family. We’ve been doing this for 25 years now and despite our growth we haven’t forgotten where we’ve come from,’’ he said.
“A strong sense of helping community has been engrained in us. And we don’t take anything for granted.”
Miles said he still remembers the first nurse they ever signed to the agency.
“Her name was Elaine and we picked her up from the airport and dropped her off at her backpackers in the city,’’ he said.
“When she had a night shift, I would pick her up and take her to Joondalup Hospital, and when she was done, I’d pick her up and drop her home.
“As the business grew, I wasn’t able to do this as often, but we are so grateful to her and all the nurses and Nurse Managers that gave us that opportunity which we will never forget”.
Today, Mediserve is a leading nursing agency in Australia with offices in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Launceston, Melbourne and Sydney.
With high quality service, respect, trust and and personalised care at the centre of all they do, Mediserve have long established relationships with a number of hospitals and healthcare facilities across Australia.
Miles with Mediserve staff supporting a good cause.
Looking back at his fulfilling career journey to date, Miles is the first to admit he never knew where a Curtin degree could take him.
“I didn’t really know where I’d end up after completing my degree. I just prayed. And my mum was always praying for us all too,’’ he said.
“While my career path has had its challenges along the way, I learnt to overcome them,’’ he said.
“One of the most important decisions was actually finding the right people to join our team.
“People that share the same values or whose values align with what we believe was always key.
“And yes, we are currently experiencing a nursing shortage throughout Australia, but with the right people around us, we try to fill that gap as best as we can.”
With Curtin’s Nursing School celebrating 50 years this year, Miles had some great advice for emerging nursing graduates.
“I encourage you to be an advocate for your patients. Despite the pressures of the job, do the right thing by your patient and this will set you apart from others,” he said.
“Some of the best nurses I know are patient, good listeners, great communicators, have great leadership and provide the best level of service to their patients when they need it most.”
Miles said his nursing degree from Curtin gave him the best foundation and provided the background, knowledge and skills he needed to establish a business that he is proud of.
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