- ACCHO to reduce diabetes-related vision loss in mob
- Cancer patients encouraged to get COVID-19 vaccine
- Extra support for SA patients
- AMA calls for reform to public hospital funding
- Share your vaccine story
- More doctors recruited to rural and remote communities
- Save the Date – RVTS Round 1 applications now open; Supporting women birthing Aboriginal babies webinar – 16 June 2021
ACCHO to reduce diabetes-related vision loss in mob
Diabetes Australia has launched a new partnership with Carbal Medical Services, a Toowoomba and Warwick based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health organisation, to reduce diabetes-related vision loss and blindness in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Diabetes is a leading cause of vision loss and blindness but only about 50% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with diabetes are having their eyes checked within recommended timeframes.
The Diabetes Australia – Carbal partnership involves the promotion of KeepSight, an eye check reminder program run by Diabetes Australia which encourages people with diabetes to have regular eye checks. The program will use locally developed, culturally appropriate resources and information.
KeepSight is free and registration only takes a minute. People then receive regular reminders when their eye checks are due.
You can read more about the partnership in Mirage News here.
KeepSight – Look after your eyes, look after your mob image.
Cancer patients encouraged to get COVID-19 vaccine
A new Cancer Australia initiative is encouraging Aboriginal people who have been impacted by cancer to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Facts on the Vax campaign is being rolled out to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal healthcare workers, across social media, and on the Cancer Australia website. The campaign includes a short, animated video and easy-to-understand factsheets about vaccination for Aboriginal people with cancer, their loved ones and health workers working with Aboriginal people.
Cancer Australia chief executive Professor Dorothy Keefe said the campaign hopes to cut through misinformation and answer frequently asked questions about the vaccine.
“The evidence is really strong that having the vaccine is a good thing,” Professor Keefe told NIT.
Every year approximately 1,400 Indigenous Australians are diagnosed with cancer, and as part of the COVID-19 roll out, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with cancer are eligible to receive a free COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr Jason Agostino from NACCHO says Aboriginal people impacted by cancer are very vulnerable to the virus.
“It’s really important that we give them all the protection we can and vaccines are a part of that,” said Dr Agostino.
You can read the full story in the National Indigenous Times here.
The Facts on the Vax campaign by Cancer Australia.
Extra support for SA patients
Aboriginal patients travelling long distances for specialist medical treatment will be entitled to advanced subsidies and automatically have travel partners approved for reimbursements, as part of a range of improvements being introduced to the Patient Assistance Transport Scheme (PATS).
Announcing the changes on National Reconciliation Week, Minister for Health and Wellbeing Stephen Wade said the changes are part of a new PATS Aboriginal Engagement Strategy which has been developed to engage more Aboriginal patients in the scheme.
“A review found that despite Aboriginal South Australians in regional areas having relatively low health status, only one percent of Aboriginal patients applied for subsidies through PATS, which clearly shows we are missing opportunities to reimburse patients,” said Minister Wade.
“The strategy has identified key areas to ensure the scheme is more accessible, more flexible, easier to understand and provides better support for Aboriginal patients travelling for medical treatment.
You can read the media release here.
Patient transport by MAF Australia.
AMA calls for reform to public hospital funding
With ambulance ramping occurring in our public hospitals because of a lack of doctors, nurses and beds, the AMA is calling on National Cabinet to urgently address public hospital funding to pull hospitals ‘back from the brink’.
Record-breaking ambulance ramping in Perth, a delay in elective surgeries in WA due to overwhelming demand, disturbing incidences of hospitals unable to cope across the country, questions raised in this week’s Senate estimates, and stories coming from NSW Parliament’s inquiry into hospital services in rural and regional areas, has forced the issue on to the national agenda.
“Our public hospitals are at breaking point and patients are suffering as a consequence,” AMA President Dr Omar Khorshid said.
The AMA says the National Cabinet must urgently move to shared 50 – 50 Commonwealth–State funding for public hospitals, and remove the artificial cap that stops our system meeting community demand.
Read AMA’s media release here.
Aboriginal child is sedated while leaving surgery, at Katherine Hospital.
Share your vaccine story
The Australian Government Department of Health has developed this easy-to-use template for social media tiles showcasing a photo and story of why you want to get or have been vaccinated against COVID-19. It’s a PowerPoint template that includes a square tile for use on Instagram and Facebook and a landscape tile to be used on Twitter or LinkedIn.
The aim is to share as many stories as possible on social media showcasing everyday people and their reasons for wanting to get the vaccine.
You can download the template here.
Alternatively, you can email: nacchonews@naccho.org.au with your photo and brief story together with your first name(s) and if you chose to, your identification(s) (example of identification: grandmother and granddaughter of the Yuin Walganga people, Mogo NSW) and we can share your story on NACCHO’s social media channels.
COVID-19 Vaccination – Image frame.
More doctors recruited to rural and remote communities
A unique national GP training program that enables doctors to gain their specialist qualification in General Practice – while living and working as a doctor in a First Nations, rural or remote community – has assisted the recruitment of an additional much-needed doctor for St George in Queensland.
Dr Gary Wood is among 32 doctors who will be training with the Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS) this year. He was recruited under a collaborative approach by RVTS (through its Targeted Recruitment strategy), Health Workforce Queensland and Goondir Health Services.
He will be working at Goondir Health Services – a health service for local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – while continuing his specialist GP training in the RVTS program.
The appointment is a major win for the St George community, as Dr Wood will work there for the duration of his specialist GP training, and hopefully for many years beyond.
“For their community, this means continuity of medical services and patient care. It really is a win-win situation for the doctors and their communities,” said RVTS CEO, Dr Pat Giddings.
Dr Wood said the benefits of working and training as a doctor under the RVTS training model were significant.
You can read the media release here.
Dr Gary Wood and Floyd Leedie CEO Goondir Health Services.
RVTS Round 1 applications now open
The Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS) is currently promoting their first round of applications for the 2022 intake. Round 1 Applications are now open – until Sunday 4 July 2021, for training to commence in February 2022, with positions available in both AMS and Remote training streams.
In addition to the AMS stream MMM2-7 location eligibility, RVTS is also offering Targeted Recruitment locations for 2022 (there are currently 5 Aboriginal Medical Services as approved Targeted Recruitment locations) as listed on the RVTS website.
For more application information click here.
For more information about targeted recruitment locations click here.
RVTS – Targeted Training Locations.
Supporting women birthing Aboriginal babies webinar
Supporting the journey of women birthing Aboriginal babies in NSW
The AH&MRC is hosting a maternal health webinar. We will hear from the Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO) sector as well as the Aboriginal Maternal Infant Health Strategy (AMIHS) on programs running in communities to support women birthing Aboriginal babies in NSW.
Hear from:
- Waminda – Melanie Briggs and Hayley Longbottom
- NSW Ministry of Health – Elizabeth Best
- Riverina Medical and Dental Aboriginal Corporation – Kristy Williams, Annika Honeysett, Rachel Fikkers and Megan Elliot-Rudder
We are inviting people working in the maternal and child health space as well as women in communities across New South Wales.
When: 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM, 16 June 2021.
For more information about the event and how to register click here.
Supporting the journey of women birthing Aboriginal Babies in NSW – event image.