“ I have been invited to launch the second Healthy Futures Report Card that is produced by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
I applaud the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation for commissioning this annual report for the benefit of the entire sector.
This report is an invaluable resource because it provides a comprehensive picture of a point in time.
These report cards allow the sector to track progress, celebrate success, and see where improvements need to be made.
This is critical for the continuous improvement of the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Sector as well as a way to maintain focus and achieve goals.
We need to acknowledge the great system in place that comprises the network of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, and recognise the role you play to build culturally responsive services in the mainstream system.
Our people need to feel culturally safe in the mainstream health system; the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector must continue to play a central role in helping the mainstream services and the sector to be culturally safe “
The Hon Ken Wyatt AM,MP Assistant Minister for Health and Aged care : SPEECH NACCHO MEMBERS CONFERENCE 2016 Launch of the Healthy Futures Report Card 8 December 2016 Melbourne
Download copy NACCHO Healthy Futures Report Card Here
Before I begin I want to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet – the Wurundjeri people – and pay my respects to Elders past, present and future. I also extend this respect to other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people here today.
I want to thank my hosts Matthew Cooke, Chair, NACCHO; and Patricia Turner, CEO, NACCHO for inviting me to speak and acknowledge NACCHO Board members. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Today I also want to specifically acknowledge Naomi Mayer and Sol Bellear from the Redfern Aboriginal Medical Service. 2016 marks the 45th anniversary of the Redfern Aboriginal Medical Service, the first such service in Australia and spearheaded by Naomi and Sol.
Thank you Naomi and Sol and congratulations on achieving such a significant and important milestone. Your work has improved the lives of countless Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians because of your leadership and compassionate care.
I have been invited to launch the second Healthy Futures Report Card that is produced by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. I applaud the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation for commissioning this annual report for the benefit of the entire sector. This report is an invaluable resource because it provides a comprehensive picture of a point in time.
These report cards allow the sector to track progress, celebrate success, and see where improvements need to be made. This is critical for the continuous improvement of the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Sector as well as a way to maintain focus and achieve goals.
Crucially, this report card is about and for the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services sector. It is not something that is happening at and to the sector. It’s yours.
This report card includes information from around 140 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services which provide care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. The services you provide cover around two thirds of the services funded by the Australian Government for primary health care services specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
During 2014–15 these services saw about 275,000 of these clients who received almost 2.5 million episodes of care. More than 228,000 Australians were regular clients of the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services sector.
I’m pleased that there have been a number of improvements identified since the 2015 report. Improvements include:
- Increases in the number of clients and episodes of care for primary health care services provided by Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services.
- A rise in the proportion of clients receiving appropriate processes of care for 10 of the 16 relevant indicators. This includes:
- antenatal visits before 13 weeks of pregnancy
- birth weight recorded
- smoking status or alcohol consumption recorded, and
- clients with type 2 diabetes who received a General Practice Management Plan or Team Care Arrangement.
Improved outcomes in three out of the five National Key Performance Indicators. This includes:
- improvements in blood pressure for clients with type 2 diabetes, and
- reductions in the proportion of clients aged 15 or over who were recorded as current smokers.
These are commendable results from services in some of the most diverse and challenging environments in Australia.
I echo the report’s authors when they say that the findings in this Report Card will assist Services in their continuous quality improvement activities, in identifying areas where service delivery and accessibility issues need to be addressed, and in supporting the goals of the Implementation Plan for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013–2023.
We are all united in our determination to close the gap in health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, so they live longer and have a better quality of life. A critical means to close the gap is the Implementation Plan for the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013-2023.
The Implementation Plan has seven domains that focus on both community-controlled and mainstream services.
It is a huge step forward to have racism recognised in the Implementation Plan – this is a critical issue for the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians.
Domain seven of the Implementation Plan is about the social and cultural determinants of health. These determinants impact on everything that we do and contribute to at least 31 per cent of the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
As we all know, health departments and health providers are only part of the solution. We need an integrated approach to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
To have strong healthy children and strong communities we need to have effective early childhood education, employment, housing and economic development where people live. These issues can only be addressed through whole-of-Government action. Whole-of-Government action across departments and across jurisdictions.
However, it is not only about governments coordinating their actions because governments alone cannot progress this agenda and action. This can only be done working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The Implementation Plan Advisory Group, established to drive the next iteration of the Implementation Plan, comprises representatives from the Departments of Health, Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
I’m pleased that this Advisory Group also includes respected and experienced members such as:
- Richard Weston from the National Health Leadership Forum and the Healing Foundation, who is Co-Chair.
- Pat Turner from the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.
- Donna Ah Chee , Julie Tongs and Mark Wenitong who are experts on, among other things, Indigenous early childhood; comprehensive primary health care; and acute care.
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The Group also includes jurisdictional members of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Standing Committee from South Australia and Western Australia.
I believe that the next iteration of the Implementation Plan, due in 2018, will be stronger because of these ongoing—and new—collaborations and partnerships.
It is clear that you all work extremely hard on behalf of the communities you serve. You are delivering excellence in primary health care and I congratulate you on the delivery of comprehensive, holistic models of care.
At the end of the day, we share the ultimate goal of Closing the Gap in health outcomes for our people so that they live longer and experience a better quality of life.
But we also have a health system under pressure. There are frontline pressures on the whole health system from our hospitals, to rural health to remote Indigenous communities. And the pressures are mounting. There is a growth in demand for services, increasing costs and growing expectations.
Expenditure on health services accounts for approximately one-sixth of the Australian Government’s total expenses—estimated at more than $71 billion for the current financial year. This figure is projected to increase to more than $79 billion by 2019-20.
There is enormous pressure on the health and aged care sectors to do more, with less. This is why there is a clear expectation that all Government-funded organisations provide the evidence basis for what they do, and show the difference their programs are making on the ground. All of us—governments and organisations—need to ask ourselves how can we do better and continue to reform within this tight fiscal environment.
I am sure many of you will be aware of the Nous Review of the Roles and Functions of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Peak Bodies and some of you, of course, participated in the Review consultations. I thank you.
The Government has not published a formal response to the Review because we recognise that what happens now is a discussion that we need to have together.
I know that NACCHO, as well as State and Territory Peak Bodies, are working with the Department of Health to chart a way forward that takes into consideration the findings of the Review.
The Nous Review provided a clear message: Peak Bodies need to play a role in supporting the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Sector AND mainstream health care providers to deliver appropriate and responsive health care services.
Governance reform for the Peak Bodies is a central element of the way forward. I know this is being driven by NACCHO in close cooperation with affiliate organisations and I applaud your initiative and commitment. I understand that Bobbi Campbell spoke with you yesterday on this matter, so I will keep my remarks brief.
I do want to say that it is important to Government to see the sector positioned as a key component of the overall health system with a clear unified voice.
The Government looks at the health system as a whole and expects collaboration that delivers effectiveness, efficiency and quality. We need a truly linked up, integrated, affordable and sustainable system.
We need to acknowledge the great system in place that comprises the network of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, and recognise the role you play to build culturally responsive services in the mainstream system.
Our people need to feel culturally safe in the mainstream health system; the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health sector must continue to play a central role in helping the mainstream services and the sector to be culturally safe.
Australia has come a long way in improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people but there is still a long, hard road ahead. I know that if we continue to work together, to collaborate and to talk about the issues and opportunities for the sector then the next Healthy Futures Report Card will have an even longer list of achievements.
I thank you for the work you do for the benefit of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and wish you only the best now, and into the future.
Thank you.
For further reading
NACCHO November 16 Newspaper : Aboriginal Health and wellbeing is close to my heart says Ken Wyatt
