NACCHO Aboriginal #CoronaVirus News Alert No 33 : April 7 #KeepOurMobSafe : @VACCHO_org @ahmrc Lack of PPE forces many Aboriginal health groups to stop testing for coronavirus.

1.VACCHO : Lack of PPE forces Aboriginal health groups to stop testing for coronavirus.

2.RACGP/Congress ACCHO: Aboriginal Communities turn remoteness into an advantage.

3. AH&MRC  : Aboriginal health services warn of catastrophic shortage of coronavirus protective equipment.

4.Dr Mark Wenitong joins other mental health professional in COVID-19 campaign.

5.NSW: Tackling the coronavirus in NSW Aboriginal communities

6.Webinar : Get the facts Kidney health and COVID-19

7.Racism multiply COVID-19 risk for Indigenous communities

8.The role of our Indigenous in the promotion of COVID-19 messages to our remote communities

9.Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services salutes its front line staff in COVID-19 crisis

10.Gallery of COVID-19 on social media images to share.

See how NACCHO protects our mob Corona Virus Home Page

Read all 32 NACCHO Aboriginal Health and Coronas Virus Alerts HERE

1.Lack of PPE forces Aboriginal health groups to stop testing for coronavirus.

“We’ve struggled for quite a while. We’ve run out. We found a few gowns that we could use, but we haven’t got a good supply at all.

We know we’re not the only ones asking for PPE, it’s across the nation. But we’re trying to provide a service to the Aboriginal community across Victoria and we’d like to be able to help with testing.

It just makes it easier for our community to come to our health services to get tested … they know us.

VACCHO chair ( and NACCHO board member ) Karen Heap said the centre she runs in Ballarat – the Ballarat & District Aboriginal Co-Operative – had run out of PPE and been forced to close temporarily last week.

The centre was conducting Covid-19 testing for Indigenous Australians and has since re-opened. But Heap says it only has one to two weeks of PPE left.

Read more HERE

2.RACGP/Congress ACCHO: Aboriginal Communities turn remoteness into an advantage.

‘We’ve taken big steps to try and control the virus in this area, not just trying to flatten the curve. And it’s working so far.’

Everybody was immediately thinking about how to protect the population, not just individuals, but how to protect everyone we’re looking after and that extended into all the community in Central Australia really,’

Dr Sam Heard, GP and Medical Director of the Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (CAAC) Aboriginal Corporation, is among the health workforce on the ground in Alice Springs.

Read more HERE

3.AH&MRC :Aboriginal health services warn of catastrophic shortage of coronavirus protective equipment.

The Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW has warned that clinics in places like the far west town of Coonamble, where confirmed Covid-19 cases are beginning to emerge, require urgent action to boost PPE stocks.

Phil Naden, the chair and acting chief executive of the AHMRC said “the demand was there, obviously, but there’s just no supply”.

“We’re down to two weeks PPE, at the most, in a lot of our clinics,” he told the Guardian. “It’s a bit catastrophic at the moment, particularly with everything happening and the need for it.”

Naden warned some clinics may need to take dramatic steps if stocks were not replenished.

Read more HERE

4.Dr Mark Wenitong joins other mental health professional in COVID-19 campaign.

To complement the investment in Australians’ mental health and wellbeing during COVID-19, the Mental Health Commission has launched #InThisTogether – a national online campaign which provides Australians with important mental health and wellbeing tips.

And Dr Mark Wenitong Apunipima ACCHO Cape York

5. NSW: Tackling the coronavirus in NSW Aboriginal communities.

The deadly coronavirus that causes the disease COVID-19 has raced across the globe in a few short months. To face this public health crisis NSWALC made a number of key resources  available for you to access below:

  1. Key Contacts
  2. NSWALC Toolkit for Local Aboriginal Land Councils (LALCs)
  3. Latest News
  4. Network Messages
  5. A Cuppa and a Yarn – NSWALC Podcast
  6. NSWALC Media Kit

WEBSITE

6. Webinar : Get the facts Kidney health and COVID-19

Register HERE

7.Racism multiply COVID-19 risk for Indigenous communities.

The factors that place Indigenous people and communities at particular risk of COVID-19 are not new. Indigenous people and their allies have been fighting for decades to address the racism, dispossession and poverty that put them in the vulnerable position they are in today.

While the resilience, connectedness and creativity of communities and their organisations will hopefully see them through this immediate crisis, the underlying structural issues must also be addressed.

READ More HERE

8.The role of our Indigenous media in the promotion of COVID-19 messages to our remote communities.

Indigenous Community Television (ICTV) is playing an expanded role in helping remote communities and audiences stay connected and informed during these unprecedented times of lockdown and isolation.

ICTV General Manager Rita Cattoni said the Aboriginal community-controlled broadcaster was focused on delivering culturally relevant and appropriate content to keep people healthy and safe.

Read / Download full press release

200401 ICTV in touch (1)

9. Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services salutes its front line staff in COVID-19 crisis

 

While a lot of KAMS and KRS staff are working from home, there is still staff like Aboriginal Health Workers, Remote Area Nurses, Doctors, Receptionists and Cleaners working on the front line to keep remote clinics and renal dialysis centres open.
Today KAMS wants to thank them for the exceptional commitment they are all showing at this difficult time.
Many of them are working extended rosters, longer hours and away from loved ones.
Some staff are in isolation awaiting to return to clinic but are doing this to ensure they keep our communities protected.
Whatever their role is and wherever you are, reach out to your colleagues… we are all in this together.

10.Gallery of COVID-19 on social media images to share.

NACCHO has developed some COVID-19 specific graphics to help promote healthy messaging to help STOP the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease in our communities.

Plus we have links to all our affiliate resources

VIEW Download HERE

10.Gallery of COVID-19 on social media images to share.

10.Gallery of COVID-19 on social media images to share.

 

One comment on “NACCHO Aboriginal #CoronaVirus News Alert No 33 : April 7 #KeepOurMobSafe : @VACCHO_org @ahmrc Lack of PPE forces many Aboriginal health groups to stop testing for coronavirus.

  1. Hello NAACHO

    Please find attached a media release from Winnunga.

    Regards

    Beth Sturgess
    Executive Assistant to the CEO
    Winnunga Nimmityjah (Strong Health)
    Aboriginal Health and Community Services
    63 Boolimba Crescent
    PO Box 40
    NARRABUNDAH ACT 2604
    Telephone: 62 846 222
    Email: beth.sturgess@winnunga.org.au
    YINDYAMARRA (Wiradjuri language) (meaning be respectful, honour, be Gentle, polite, To Honour and do things slowly to all you meet).
    Always Was, Always Will Be
    Aboriginal Health in Aboriginal Hands

    I acknowledge the traditional owners of country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, sea and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures, and to the elders both past and present.

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