NACCHO Aboriginal Health #Saveadate Features : @closethegapOZ #CTGV2020 #CloseTheGap Day 15 March and #IPAC EofI to trial a #pharmacist in your ACCHO health care team close 20 March @NRHAlliance #6rrhss #RuralHealth 11 April #AHCRA2018

Download the 2018 Aboriginal Health Save a dates

NACCHO Save a date 2018 Calendar 13 march

Featured this week

1.Would your ACCHO health service like to trial a pharmacist in your health care team ?

Closing date for the Expressions of Interest is 20th March 2018

We are now seeking Expressions of Interest in the Integrating Pharmacists within Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services to improve Chronic Disease Management (IPAC) project.

This is a large project that will investigate if including a non-dispensing practice pharmacist as part of the primary health care team within Aboriginal community controlled health services (ACCHSs) leads to improvements in the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Read all past NACCHO Pharmacy articles here

It will involve up to 22 ACCHSs invited to participate in the project from three jurisdictions- Queensland, Victoria, and the Northern Territory. The project will provide funding and support for the pharmacist to be embedded within an ACCHS.

The project aims to benefit the ACCHS sector by providing the evidence-base to better support quality use of medicines through integrated care models.

The pharmacist will provide education and shared decision making for patients and staff on appropriate medicines for people with chronic conditions.

Having a culturally responsive pharmacist integrated into ACCHSs should enable the building of relationships and trust between pharmacists, patients, ACCHS staff and the community.

This should ultimately improve medicines use and health for ACCHS patients who agree to be part of this project.

The IPAC project is a partnership between the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA), James Cook University (College of Medicine and Dentistry) the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and its state Affiliates.

The Australian Government under the Pharmacy Trials Program of the 6th Community Pharmacy Agreement has funded the project.

Yours sincerely,

Pat Turner – NACCHO CEO

To express an interest please complete this quick scoping survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/R5LD6JB

ACCHSs will be offered site agreements from April for gradual roll out of Pharmacists mid year

Closing date for the Expressions of Interest is 20th March 2018

For further information please contact NACCHO IPAC Project Coordinators ipac@naccho.org.au

Alice Nugent 0439873723 and Fran Vaughan 0417826617

2. Close the Gap Day March 15, 2018

Everyone deserves the right to a healthy future and the opportunities this afford. We are very lucky to live in a rich country with a universal health system.

However, many of Australia’s First Peoples are denied the same access to healthcare that non-Indigenous Australians take for granted. Despite a decade of Government promises the gap in health and life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and other Australians is widening.

This National Close the Gap Day, we have an opportunity to send our governments a clear message that Australians value health equality as a fundamental right for all.

Read over 473 NACCHO Close the Gap Aboriginal Health articles published over last 6 years

On National Close the Gap Day we encourage you to host an activity in you workplace, home, community or school.

The aim? To bring people together, to share information — and most importantly — to take meaningful action in support of achieving Indigenous health equality by 2030.

How to get involved in National Close the Gap Day

Register your activity. We will send you some free resources. You can also download others here
Invite your friends, workmates and family to join you
Take action by signing the Close the Gap petition and asking your friends and colleagues to do the same
Call, tweet or write to your local Member of Parliament and tell them that you want them to Close the Gap
Listen to and share the stories of Aboriginal people on Facebook
Share your photos and stories on social media. Use the hashtag #ClosetheGap
Donate to help our work on Close the Gap

If you register on or after March 9th it is unlikely you will receive your pack in time. But don’t worry, you can download all the resources online.

On National Close the Gap Day 2017, there were more than 1100 separate events held across the country from the tip of Cape York to Southern Tasmania, and from Rottnest Island in West Australia to towns along Australia’s east coast.

With events ranging from workplace morning teas, to sports days, school events and public events in hospitals and offices around the country — tens of thousands of people took part and made a difference.

Your actions can create lasting change. Be part of the generation who closes the gap.

What is Close the Gap?

Equal access to healthcare is a basic human right, and in Australia we expect it. So what if we told you that you can expect to die a decade earlier than your next-door neighbour? You wouldn’t accept it. No-one should.

But in reality, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People can expect to live 10 years less than non-Indigenous Australians. Learn more about why the health gap exists.

Working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is one of the critical success factors. With continued support from the public, we can ensure the Australian Government continues to work with Indigenous communities, recommit additional funding and invest in real partnerships.

Learn more about Close the Gap.

3.Close the Gap for Vision Conference Follow #CTGV2020