Category Palliative Care

Nov 3 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Australia’s first national cancer plan a reality

feature tile image of ATSI cancer survivor Jacinta Elston; text 'Improving outcomes for ATSI people a priority of Australia's first National Cancer Plan'

The image in the feature tile of cancer survivor Jacinta Elston appeared in an ABC News article Australia’s first national cancer plan aims to improve outcomes for Indigenous and regional Australians, available here, published yesterday, Thursday 2 November 2023. Image: Blacklock Media.

The NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health News is a platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Australia’s first national cancer plan a reality

Improving outcomes for Australians with the poorest cancer experiences, especially First Nations people, will be a priority for the nation’s first cancer plan. Cancer Australia CEO Professor Dorothy Keefe launched the landmark Australian Cancer Plan this week in a plenary address to the 50th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) in Melbourne. The plan has been developed by Cancer Australia, in consultation with the states and territories, First Nations communities, clinicians, researchers, people with lived experience of cancer and support organisations.

The plan covers all cancer types, across the whole cancer journey, from prevention and early detection to treatment, recovery, and end of life care. A key priority of the plan is improving outcomes for groups with the poorest cancer experiences, with a particular focus on First Nations people. Achieving equity for First Nations people was an urgent priority, Professor Keefe said. First Nations people are 14% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and 45% more likely to die from cancer than non-Indigenous people.

Professor Keefe said she and everyone at Cancer Australia were “very excited” to see the plan come to fruition. “This is the first time Australia has ever had national cancer control plan,” she said. “And this one was created by the entire sector working together. The patients, the advocates, the researchers, traditions, the government’s it’s just great.” The plan sets out two and five-year goals for achieving these strategic objectives, and a 10-year ambition. The strategic objectives include:

  • Maximising cancer prevention and early detection
  • Enhanced consumer experience
  • World-class health systems for optimal care
  • Strong and dynamic foundations
  • Workforce to transform the delivery of cancer care
  • Achieving equity in cancer outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

To view the Medical Republic article Australia’s first national cancer plan a reality in full click here.

Major step towards new WA ACCHO

The Fitzroy Valley Health and Wellbeing Project Working Group has taken the next step in its mission to establish a community controlled health service with the recent incorporation of Barrala Health Service Aboriginal Corporation. The aim of the Fitzroy Valley Health and Wellbeing Project, established in 2021, is to establish a dedicated Aboriginal community controlled health service to deliver comprehensive primary healthcare services in Fitzroy Crossing.

With the the entity now incorporated, Barrala has begun work on a detailed business plan for the establishment of the health service which will include staffing, service design, specialist services, infrastructure and capital works. The service’s design will be tailored to meet the specific needs of the Fitzroy Crossing community.

Barrala will partner with stakeholders including the Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services (KAMS), the Aboriginal Health Council of WA (AHCWA), NACCHO, the WA Country Health Service and the WA and Commonwealth Governments.

To view the Broome Advertiser article Fitzroy Valley Health and Wellbeing Project takes major step towards community controlled health service in full click here.

Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service treasurer Chris Bin Kali and Barrala Health Service co-chairs Delvene Green and Joe Ross

Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service treasurer Chris Bin Kali and Barrala Health Service co-chairs Delvene Green and Joe Ross. Image source: Broome Advertiser.

Political misinformation regulation required

The recent open letter to the PM and parliamentarians broke the week-long silence from Indigenous leaders after the country rejected the proposed First Nations Voice to Parliament. The letter emphasised the damage caused by the “lies in political advertising and communication” prevalent in the recent campaign. The immediate consequences of these campaign messages have been profoundly damaging, with Indigenous-led mental health helpline 13 YARN receiving a 108% increase of Indigenous people reporting racism, abuse and trauma.

The federal government has proposed to introduce legislation to address the risks of political misinformation as a way of addressing three crucial factors: 1) Fake news and information spreads faster than real news, and is very hard to stop once it gets going. Misinformation can be posted on social media and reach a large audience before the information can be taken down. It’s easier to ensure politicians and political actors are prevented from saying it in the first place. 2) The public is often largely unaware when information is incorrect, and don’t necessarily have the skill or engagement to verify facts for themselves. 3) Belief in misinformation continues even after correction, a factor known as the continued influence effect.

Relying solely on the media, the public and rival political candidates to correct false statements is like expecting rain to extinguish a bush fire without any intervention from emergency services. While rain might sometimes help douse the flames, it’s inconsistent and unreliable. Similarly, while media and public scrutiny can occasionally correct misinformation, it’s not a guaranteed or systematic solution. Political misinformation spread online is like thousands of small fires simultaneously being lit.

To view The Conversation article Regulating political misinformation isn’t easy, but it’s necessary to protect democracy in full click here.

snapshot of AAP FactCheck post text 'This claim in false. Experts say results at the electorate level are not an indication of how Indigenous people voted'

Image: AAP FactCheck Twitter post. Image source: The Conversation.

Funding boost for three health projects

Three Indigenous health projects led by teams at the University of Sydney will share in over $3.2m as part of an initiative by the Australian Government to help find new ways to reduce chronic disease, improve mental health, help people quit smoking and increase resilience in kids. The projects are focused on involving First Nations people from their inception, and listening to the lived experience of the communities and peoples involved at every stage.Professor Robyn Ward, Executive Dean and Pro Vice-Chancellor Medicine and Health, congratulated the recipients, noting the impact that Indigenous-led and community informed projects can have on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Professor Ward said the projects listed below, “have the potential to address areas of critical need for Indigenous Australians. We welcome the support from the Australian Government to support our researchers and communities. Working together is the best way to make a difference for mental health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

  • Connecting our Way – aims to build confidence in children in emotional regulation, mindfulness, and managing emotions at high-risk times
  • Creating Mental Health Safe Spaces in Pharmacy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Consumers: Educating the primary care workforce in Mental Health First Aid (The MH-SPACE Trial) – aims to address the disproportionate lack of adequate mental health support available to First Nations Australians by upskilling the frontline, primary care workforce, namely community pharmacists – who are highly accessible and trusted healthcare professionals
  • Social Wellbeing Program – aims to develop a culturally-based social and emotional wellbeing program for young First Nations people in prison, to better deal with the underlying causes of unsocial behaviours, such as intergenerational trauma

To view The University of Sydney article Indigenous health projects get funding boost in full click here.

close up photo of grass tree plant, superimposed with white dot & line Aboriginal lines

Image source: The University of Sydney.

Input invite: PSA palliative care training program

In recent months the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) has been successful in its application for a grant under the National Palliative Care Projects grant program. Over the next 2 years the PSA’s aim is to develop a palliative care foundation training program for Australian pharmacists. This training program is not intended to prepare pharmacists to specialise in palliative care, but rather to broadly upskill and equip Australian pharmacists with the foundation knowledge, skills and compassion needed to provide palliative care support to patients through quality use of medicines. The course, once developed, will be available free of charge to all pharmacists nationally by means of online self-directed learning.

The PSA is keen to ensure that the palliative care needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait people and communities are considered throughout the training course, and brought to the attention of pharmacists and are seeking input from individual health professionals and also from carers and consumers, via 2 separate online surveys. The input will be carefully considered as the PSA develop the key learning objectives and overarching module structure of the program.

You can find more information on the National Palliative Care Projects grant program here.

The health professionals survey is available here, and the carers and consumers survey is available here.

The closing date for all input is Friday 17 November 2023 at 5pm AEDT.

ATSI hand being cradled by health worker

Image source: PSA Returning to Spirit webpage.

Helping improve health outcomes in the bush

Australia’s leading organic global meat producer, Hewitt has committed $750,000 to support the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) sections in Qld, SA and NT, and NSW, delivering critical health and wellbeing care to remote Indigenous and farming communities.  The RFDS is vital in turning the tide to help improve health outcomes for people living in rural and remote areas. Around 230,000 occasions of care are delivered each year between Qld, SA and the NT, and the South Eastern Sections. Around 28% of the Australian population live in rural and remote areas, with data revealing people in these communities often experience poorer health outcomes when compared to city dwellers, due to less access to primary health care services. 

For Indigenous communities, which make up around 32% of those living in rural and remote Australia, life expectancy is lower and there is a higher prevalence of modifiable risk factors that could lead to serious health issues such as kidney, urinary tract or coronary heart disease, injury or suicide. The five-year partnership between Hewitt and the RFDS aims to improve the physical and mental health and well-being of people in rural, regional, and remote areas of Australia by ensuring vital medicine, health technology and medical/mental health advice is delivered. 

RFDS (Queensland Section) CEO Meredith Staib said the Hewitt collaboration will go towards providing important front-line services to people in rural and remote communities, “Our aim is to provide the finest care to the furthest corner and we’re grateful for the generous support of Hewitt over such a significant amount of time. “ We’re continuing to work hard to provide positive and equitable health outcomes across Australia and this is only possible with the support of Australia’s rural sector.”

To view the Third Sector article Helping improve medical and mental health outcomes in the bush in full click here.

RFDS plane in outback, patient on stretcher being carried 4 adults to the plane

Image source: Third Sector.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.

Oct 13 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Voice has a vision, it has hope and it has promise

portrait image of Senator Pat Dodson; text ' “there’s nothing to fear with this referendum, it’s all about taking us forward, it has a vision, it has hope and it has promise” Senator Pat Dodson'

The image in the feature tile is of Labor Senator Pat Dodson from an article Yes supporter Senator Pat Dodson addresses National Press Club, says nation ‘bogged down in division’ published by ABC News on Wednesday 11 October 2023.

The NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health News is platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Voice has a vision, it has hope and it has promise

Prominent Indigenous leader and politician Pat Dodson, Senator for WA and Special Envoy Reconciliation and Implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, says a No result in the Voice to Parliament referendum would send the country backwards. The WA Labor Senator has been absent from the Yes campaign and from political life after being diagnosed with cancer.

Addressing the National Press Club on Wednesday this week (11 October 2023) via video link from Broome, Senator Dodson said the day after the referendum Australians will “have a look in the mirror” and ask themselves of the result: “How is this going to impact your kids and yourself going forward? Are we going to go backwards? Cop more of the same? Are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people going to be at the table or picking up the crumbs? As we have been for the last 200 years?”

Three days out from the referendum’s final call, Senator Dodson said the country needed change. “We need to have an effective Voice to the Parliament, we need to have recognition as the first peoples,” he said. Of the proposed amendment to the constitution that would see First Nations people recognised in the document, the senator said: “You can’t live in your own country and not be recognised.” When asked about the published polls within the media that have suggested a No win in the lead-up to the referendum, Senator Dodson said the only poll he was concerned with was the one that “comes out of the ballot box”.

You can view the ABC News article Yes supporter Senator Pat Dodson addresses National Press Club, says nation ‘bogged down in division’ in full here.

Health, education, law organisations all support the Voice

The yes campaign for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice has attracted the support of hundreds of organisations across Australian society, from health to education, legal affairs, housing, employment and, of course, Indigenous groups. Earlier this week (Tuesday 10 October 2023) The Guardian published an article: Why we’re backing yes: organisations from law to health to education on their support for the voice, available here, including statements from:

  • Health organisations: NACCHO; Australian Medical Association; Royal Australian College of General Practitioners; Public Health Association of Australia; Medical Journal of Australia; Royal Australasian College of Surgeons; Australian Society for Infectious Diseases; Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry; NSW Mental Health Commission; Beyond Blue; Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association; and Headspace
  • Legal groups: The Law Council of Australia; NSW Aboriginal Legal Service; Human Rights Law Centre; Community Legal Centres Australia; Legal Aid NSW; and NSW Bar Association
  • Housing organisations: Community Housing Industry Association NSW; Tenants’ Union of NSW; Housing for the Aged Action Group
  • Educators: Universities Australia; Australian Education Union; Historians from universities, libraries and museums; Australian public law teachers; University of Newcastle; Charles Darwin University; and University of Sydney Business School
  • Business groups: Business Council of Australia; Tech Council of Australia; More than 450 company directors
  • Charities and welfare organisations: Community sector organisations including Acoss, Mission Australia, Cota and the St Vincent de Paul Society; Amnesty International; Australia’s major church providers
  • Other Indigenous groups: Indigenous Desert Alliance; Central Land Council; and Lowitja Institute

NACCHO CEO and Lead Convenor of the Coalition of Peaks, Pat Turner AM said “A voice and recognition of Indigenous Australians is critical if there is going to be long-term sustainable improvements to health outcomes for our peoples … Having worked in government as a senior executive for decades, I strongly believe having a voice written into the Australian constitution together with the National Agreement on Closing the Gap is the best way to improve living conditions and health outcomes for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”

Referendum’s mental health toll won’t end tomorrow

Racism, trauma and an expectation First Nations peoples should educate others on the Voice referendum have led to increased psychological stress, and no matter what happens on Saturday, the referendum campaign is likely to continue taking a mental and emotional toll on First Nations peoples,  Black Dog Institute First Nations strategy and partnerships director Clinton Schultz said.

“As professionals in the field, what we’re witnessing anecdotally are reports of increased psychological distress from community members,” he said. “People making contact with us are associating that with all the stresses of the referendum, the discourse and the constant discussion and focus. It’s been really overwhelming for a lot of people.”

National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing (NCATSIW) research professor Raymond Lovett said NCATSIW have been analysing survey data to track levels of mental health and wellbeing during the referendum period. During the referendum campaign Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have experienced increased racism, including “unfair and harmful interactions in day-to-day life, overhearing racist comments, and negative messages in the media. Another source of stress has been the pressure to “educate and inform non-Indigenous people about the referendum. This can cause a heavy mental load. Repeatedly walking people through history can also be triggering or re-traumatising.

To view the Crikey article Referendum mental health toll on First Nations communities won’t ‘miraculously’ ease on Saturday in full click here.

Vote Yes & Vote No signs at an early voting centre for the VTP

Vote Yes and Vote No signs at an early voting centre for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum. Photo: Joel Carrett, AAP. Image source: Crikey.

Connection to community crucial to research success

Professor Elizabeth Elliott has been partnering with the Aboriginal community in Fitzroy Crossing in regional WA since 2009 to support children affected by Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). From their initial contact with the community, Professor Elliot Professor Jane Latimer and PhD students James Fitzpatrick, Barbara Lucas and Emily Fitzpatrick confirmed that there were high rates of FASD in the communities and that many of the children had major behavioural problems. They used this insight to advocate for services. “I’m really pleased that we were able prove the value of the research by showing both immediate and long-term benefits such as providing healthcare, training, referrals to specialists, or programs to help families and teachers – such as a positive parenting program to help support kids at home and school,” said Professor Elliot.

Connection to the community was also crucial to the success of the work undertaken by Professor Jennifer Alison and PhD candidate David Meharg. David’s thesis centres on partnering with four ACCHOs in regional NSW to implement pulmonary rehabilitation and contribute to lung health service provision. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or chronic lung disease, is so prevalent in Aboriginal communities that it’s seen as an inevitable illness. Raising awareness of COPD was a challenge for Jennifer and David, as many people aren’t aware that there are treatments available to manage the condition. Equally challenging are the barriers to attending hospitals due to feelings of fear, distrust and alienation from past experiences of racism.

Professor Alison and David worked to bring the treatment to the local communities in an effective and culturally safe manner, by upskilling local health professionals to help them educate their patients on how to manage COPD. “We were very privileged to have the support of an Aboriginal Elder, Associate Professor Boe Rambaldini, who was Director of The Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University,” said Professor Alison, recalling how they started. “Having a personal introduction from a trusted Elder helped us form connections with the chief executives of the ACCHOs with whom we partnered”

To view The University of Sydney article Supporting better health for First Nations communities in full click here.

Professor Jennifer Alison (far right) and David Meharg (second from left) at a COPD Awareness Day at Armajun Aboriginal Medical Service, Inverell

Professor Jennifer Alison (far right) and David Meharg (second from left) at a COPD Awareness Day at Armajun Aboriginal Medical Service, Inverell. . Image source: The University of Sydney website.

Listening should have happened decades ago

In recent weeks both Noel Pearson and Health Minister Mark Butler have highlighted a condition known as rheumatic heart disease (RHD) as the exemplar of why we need an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. RHD is a major cause of suffering and early death in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, yet for non-Indigenous Australians, it is essentially a disease of yesteryear. RHD researcher Professor Jonathon Carapetis says that because RHD is almost exclusively a health problem for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, has its roots in social and economic disadvantage, and we fail to tackle it despite having the ability to do so, it is emblematic of Australia’s failure to “close the gap” in health outcomes.

Professor Carapetis said the story of his RHD research over the past 30 years in many ways mirrors the story of closing the gap — lots of passion, dedication and good ideas, but with almost no progress being made. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are developing, and dying from, RHD today at higher rates than ever, despite all the hard work as scientists, health care providers, and policymakers.

But a few years ago, something changed, Professor Carapetis said, he and his colleagues finally listened to what Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders had been telling them all along — that we could come up with all the great treatments, diagnostic tests and preventive therapies in the world, but no progress would be made until Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people themselves were empowered to lead and implement change, often using those tools we developed. In other words, we researchers and health care providers needed to cede control to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities and become trusted partners and allies rather than be just another in a long line of well-intentioned, top-down programs destined to fail.

To view The West Australian article Jonathan Carapetis: Heart disease agenda shows what’s possible when we listen in full click here.

Professor Jonathon Carapetis, Telethon Kids Institute

Professor Jonathon Carapetis. Photo: Daniel Wilkins, The West Australian.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.

Key Date –  Saturday 14 October 2023

Allied Health Professions Day

Allied Health Professions Day was first held in England in 2018 and is now an international event held annually on 14 October, celebrating and bringing together the allied health professional community. This year the main theme ‘Stronger together’, highlights the benefits of multidisciplinary team-based care. While it is well known that allied health professionals play a key role in the health and wellbeing of all Australians, health system reform is finally recognising the value, both economic and clinical, of multidisciplinary care.

It is vital that allied health professionals are recognised alongside their nursing and medical colleagues for their role in designing and implementing a comprehensive healthcare system, that truly wraps around the consumer. Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) has developed a Digital Kit including logos, posters, social media graphics, and other assets to share in celebration of Allied Health Professions Day.

You can find more information about Allied Health Professions Day and access the AHPA Digital Kit on the AHPA website here.

Allied Health Professions Day logo & child therapist from Wellington AMS

An Aboriginal Community and Therapy Support Worker from the Wellington Aboriginal Corporation Health Service (WACHS). Image source: WACHS website.

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD) is an annual unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world. WHPCD has been marked every year for the last 19 years. The WHPCD theme for 2023 is Compassionate Communities: Together for Palliative Care.

Compassionate communities care for people, assist people to live in the place they call home, connect people to services, and raise awareness about end-of-life issues. The Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA) says it will engage governments and key stakeholders in a health promotion approach to palliative care, aiming to support solidarity among community members throughout their life course up to and at the end of life. In recent years, hundreds of compassionate communities have been developed all around the world. WHPCA believes that palliative care working alongside compassionate communities multiplies the ability to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable in our communities.

You can find more information on WHPCD 2023 on the WHPCA website here.

banner for 2023 World Hospice & Palliative Care Day 14 Oct 2023
Aug 23 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: New Deadly Choices promotional assets launched

feature tile image of Deadly Choices Tobacco Education Program information stand; text 'New suite of Deadly Choices preventative health promotional assets launched today'

The image in the feature tile is of a Deadly Choice Tobacco Education Program information stand from the Deadly Choices section of the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH) website.

The NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health News is platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

New Deadly Choices promotional assets launched

Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled health sector came together in Brisbane today to assist in launching a suite of Deadly Choices preventative health promotional assets, including a series of television advertisements, aimed at limiting the number of community members from across the state taking up vaping and smoking.

Seeking to orchestrate healthier, happier communities right across Queensland, Deadly Choices will shine a light on the endemic global health concerns of vaping among youth, while also targeting the incidence of tobacco smoking among pregnant mothers, plus families living in remote communities, all key directives of the Institute for Urban Indigenous Health (IUIH)’s integrated statewide approach via the Tackling Indigenous Smoking (TIS)-Deadly Choices partnership.

The major directives of the 2023 Deadly Choices advertising campaigns will be to stress to individuals the importance of making deadly, healthy choices, not only for themselves, but for their families and for their communities as a cultural commitment. “TIS funding allows Deadly Choices to propagate its preventative health messaging around the dangers of tobacco smoking, from Far North Queensland through the Central and South-Western regions of the State, and from the North Coast all the way down to the border areas of the Gold and Tweed Coasts, Stanthorpe and Goondiwindi,” confirmed IUIH Director of Commercial Operations, Dallas Leon.

“Notably, we’ll establish strategic new partnerships with community-controlled health service organisations from Palm Island, Yarrabah, Nhulundu Health in and around the Gladstone region, North Coast, plus Goolburri Health which has an established footprint across the Darling Downs and South-West. “We’ll also strengthen our preventative health practice and messaging in areas of Queensland where Deadly Choices currently delivers health education programs in schools, on behalf of Health and Wellbeing Queensland.

Deadly Choices has previously been acknowledged by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its efforts in promoting the dangers of smoking among Indigenous communities and has at its disposal an arsenal of health sector service provision experience to enhance protocols against smoking.

You can view IUIH’s media alert ‘Deadly Choices’ Formulates Tobacco Takedown for Qld Communities in full here and find more information about IUIH’s Deadly Choices program here.

Griffith’s award winning eye care model

An ophthalmology project set up at Griffith Base Hospital in NSW to improve access to eyecare services for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people living in the Western Murrumbidgee Local Health District has hit the ground running and with further support can strengthen its delivery of eyecare to the region. When an ophthalmologist and a hospital director floated the idea of establishing a visiting eye health service at Griffith Base Hospital – a six hour drive west of Sydney – little did they know that 24 months later their initiative would be nominated by the hospital staff for a NSW Government Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) Excellence Award.

At a ceremony in Wagga Wagga in June, ‘Saving Sight is our Vision’ was named winner of MLHD’s Keeping People Healthy Award, one of 15 award categories. At the time, MLHD CEO Ms Jill Ludford said it was rewarding to see the number of activities happening across the district with sincere efforts to support First Nations communities, “Improving access to eyecare services through the delivery of high quality, sustainable, affordable, regular and culturally sensitive eye services has been Griffith Ophthalmology’s focus.”

Led by Associate Professor Geoffrey Painter, one of the founders of Gordon Eye Surgery and a director of Foresight Australia, and colleague Dr Dominic McCall, a group of mostly Sydney-based ophthalmologists visit Griffith Base Hospital every four weeks to see and operate on patients from the Western MLHD. In addition, Foresight has sponsored two training courses to upskill employees from the Griffith Aboriginal Medical Service. 

To read the Insight article Griffith Base Hospital’s award-winning eyecare model in full click here.

eye testing training at Griffith AMS - 4 health workers

Foresight Australia has sponsored two training courses to upskill employees from the Griffith Aboriginal Medical Service. Image source: Insight.

NAATSIHWP Professional Development Symposium

The National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (NAATSIHWP) is holding a professional development symposium at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Kaurna Country over Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 October 2023.

The symposium will consist of two full days of  of workshop-based sessions for full and student NAATSIHWP members to learn about leading-edge clinical and primary health care practices as well as social and emotional wellbeing and culturally based activities.

You can find out more about the symposium, including scholarship opportunities here.

tile: NAATSIHWP professional development symposium 24-25 Oct 2023

2023 Oceanic Palliative Care Conference

The 2023 Oceanic Palliative Care Conference (OPCC) is taking place in Sydney between Wednesday 13 September and Friday 15 September. Close to 80 scholarships have been awarded to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers, palliative care workers, consumers, and carers in Australia and the Oceanic region to attend the conference. The scholarships cover registration costs and travel from as far away as Broome, Katherine, northeast Arnhem Land, PNG and Samoa.

Palliative Care Australia CEO Camilla Rowland said the cost of participating is often a barrier “and our hope is that these scholarships enable important voices to be heard and experiences to be shared. OPCC represents a critical learning and development opportunity, and we want that to influence and grow the care people receive – wherever they are.”

The theme for OPCC 2023 is ‘With the end in mind; shaping stronger health systems, delivering quality palliative care.’

Find more information about the 2023 Oceanic Palliative Care Conference click here.

tile: 2 images: Oceanic Palliative Care Conference 13-15 Sep 2023 logo & image clip board with title 'palliative care' & stethoscope

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.

Key Date – Brain Injury Awareness Week – 21–27 August 2023

During Brain Injury Awareness Week 2023 NACCHO is sharing information about brain injury, in particular how brain injury impacts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Brain injury impacts many Indigenous, rural, and remote communities across Australian.

Australia’s Brain Injury Organisation, Synapse, has produced a number of Indigenous factsheets that talk about issues in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities that may result in a brain injury, or be occurring because of one. The factsheets. available here, include all the most relevant and current information about brain injury and outline what supports are available. The topics covered by the factsheets include:

  • Domestic and Family Violence
  • Drug and Alcohol Abuse
  • Mental Health and Suicide
  • Physical Assault
Yarning Circle for ATSI people with traumatic brain injury

A Yarning Circle developed to bridge the gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with traumatic brain injury. Photo: Edith Cowan University. Image source: NITV Radio website.

Jul 20 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Embedding pharmacists in ACCHOs

The NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health News is platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Embedding pharmacists in ACCHOs

The Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC) has announced it supports funding for embedding pharmacists in ACHHOs. NACCHO Chair Donella Mills said, “MSAC’s support confirms ACHHOs can better ensure safe and effective use of medicines when pharmacists are present.”

“Our member services have been calling for support and funding for non-dispensing pharmacists integrated into ACCHOs for years… This endorsement further validates their requests and demonstrates the impact of team-based community-controlled healthcare,” she said.

The recommendation from Australia’s principal medical advisory group is based on a joint submission by NACCHO, PSA, and James Cook University, which found compelling evidence in the Integrating Pharmacists within Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services to improve Chronic Disease Management (IPAC) project. Pharmacists were proven to be valuable in improving the health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples; this includes a significant improvement in self-reported adherence to medicines, clinically significant improvements in the control of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes, and reduced risk of chronic disease patients developing CVD.

Read NACCHO’s media release here. Read the Australian Pharmacist article here.

Mandatory alcohol labelling – what’s next?

An expert panel including NACCHO Deputy CEO, Dr Dawn Casey will come together next month, Wednesday 2 August for the FASD Australia Mandatory Alcohol Labelling: A long fought battle. Now what’s next? webinar. From Tuesday 1 August labels identifying the harms of alcohol during pregnancy will be mandatory on all packaged alcoholic beverages with more than 1.15% alcohol by volume sold in Australia and NZ. Label messaging will state: “Alcohol can cause lifelong harm to your baby.”

The event will celebrate the landmark policy and the successful collaboration between researchers, advocates, community, and government. The panel will hear from a mother with lived experience of raising a child with FASD. The webinar will also explore the impact of the changes and other policies in reducing alcohol harms in communities, before looking at what’s next for reducing the risk of prenatal alcohol exposure and FASD across Australia.

Learn more here.

Image source: FASD Hub Australia.

Remote supervision keeps GP doors open

Remote supervision aims to get more GPs training and working in remote communities and communities in need across Australia. Regional NSW town, Armidale has been contending with workforce shortages in recent months, with clinics relying on telehealth services as a stopgap since its onsite GP moved away. A Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) remote supervision placement will see a new registrar practice at West Armidale Medical Clinic, supported by two remote supervisors.

“Remote supervision enables a GP to train in a community with limited or no onsite supervisor available – it’s an innovative way to get more GP registrars into communities in need and improve access for patients,” said RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins.

RACGP Senior Local Medical Educator, Head of Training New England Northwest, Dr Donna Quinn said the program in Armidale is an example of improving and expanding access to care for patients, “the fact that a registrar will be able to practice with remote supervision means that the patients at the clinic can continue to access care, and that makes a huge difference for a community.”

Read more here. More information about the RACGP’s remote supervision placements can be found here.

Image source: Unspalsh.

Ongoing impacts of COVID-19

Healthcare leaders are concerned about a lack of information and awareness about the ongoing risks of COVID-19. NACCHO Medical Advisor, Megan Campbell said, “COVID-19 continues to spread and affect many people across the country, including ACCHO clients and staff.” Victoria Allied Health Professionals Association, Executive Officer Andrew Hewat says across the board, COVID-19 continues to put pressure on the healthcare system and it’s important to recognise the ongoing efforts of health workers.

“COVID has taken regular healthcare workload pressures and put it on steroids,” he said.

Meanwhile, Professor Lesley Russell said national COVID data is lacking, and Australia has “no effective national surveillance or no standardised national collection of epidemiological and genetic data.” This makes it difficult to determine how many Australians are affected, plan for future waves, identify accurate prevalence of Long COVID, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and treatments.

Lung Foundation Australia says not many people are aware of the impacts of Long COVID.  The Foundation is urging people to “remain vigilant as COVID continues to be a major health concern” and to ensure they are up to date with COVID and other vaccinations, particularly during winter while other respiratory viruses are circulating.

Read the full Croakey Health Media article here.

Image source: Unsplash.

Improving mental health literacy of young men

Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men aged between 1425 will be at the centre of new mental health research in Stirling. The Curtin University research project will aim to understand how young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men perceive mental health and their current approaches to promoting mental wellbeing, as well as the barriers and facilitators to fostering wellbeing and resilience. The research team will develop and test culturally appropriate mental health messages that will resonate with young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men.

“We will conduct co-design workshops to develop new strengths-based approaches to increase mental health literacy and mental health promotion grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing and being, which might include social media campaigns or mass media campaigns,” said Curtin’s School of Population Health, Professor Penelope Hasking.

“We will soon be recruiting our research team to guide the project… comprising young Aboriginal [and Torres Strait Islander] men and Elders before we commence an initial pilot within the City of Stirling early next year,” she said.

Read the full West Australian article here.

Curtin University. Image Source: The West Australian.

Palliative Care Conference registrations near 1,000

Registrations for the 2023 Oceanic Palliative Care Conference (23OPCC) are now open with registrations climbing towards 1,000 delegates. Running between Wednesday 13 September and Friday 15 September, the conference centres around the theme, ‘With the end in mind, shaping stronger health systems, delivering quality palliative care.’ Topics on the agenda include building and sustaining the workforce, caring for diverse populations, future models of care and primary health reform. Palliative Care Australia CEO, Camilla Rowland said, “our sector is very passionate about the care they provide and OPCC really energises innovative thinking, not just in the palliative care sector but also its connection with aged care, disability services and the wider health system.”

“We were blown away by the strength of the abstract submissions we received, the best and brightest speakers are lining up to share their work and knowledge at OPCC,” said Ms Rowland.

Speakers include geriatrician Dr Sue Kurrle, Canadian researcher and podcaster Dr Hsien Seow, former Health Secretary Professor Brendan Murphy, Aboriginal nurse practitioner Kat Hooper, and renowned researcher and leader Professor David Currow. Registrations are open until Thursday 17 August, a late fee will apply from Friday 18 August.

For further registration details click here.

To view the medianet. article Strong conference program and passion for reform draws palliative care sector to Sydney this September in full click here.

Image Source: Palliative Care Australia Twitter.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.

May 24 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: ACCHO’s partnership delivers great outcomes

feature tile, image of Senior Lawyer John Cattanach & Aboriginal Community Engagement Officer Belinda Foley in front of Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative building; text 'Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative's partnership with Victoria Legal Aid is delivering GREAT OUTCOMES'

The image in the feature tile is of Senior Lawyer John Cattanach and Aboriginal Community Engagement Officer Belinda Foley standing in front of the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative building. The photo appeared in a Victoria Legal Aid article Creating stronger connections to community in partnership with Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative published yesterday, 23 May 2023.

The NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health News is platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Partnership with ACCHO delivers great outcomes

Geelong Senior Lawyer John Cattanach has always wanted to be part of positive change for First Nations peoples. He says closer ties between Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) and the local Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative to support First Nations people with legal needs – a model being replicated across other regional offices – is helping him achieve that goal. He and Aboriginal Community Engagement Officer Belinda Foley are both based in our Geelong office  and regularly receive referrals through the co-operative in a partnership they established in March last year. The co-operative is a holistic service that provides health, family, community and cultural services to First Nations peoples in the Geelong, Bellarine and Colac region. The partnership with VLA links First Nations peoples to early support from Belinda and John to prevent escalating legal issues, as well a culturally sensitive service that responds to their individual needs.

John is a Marrithiyel man whose mob is located five hours southwest of Darwin, and Belinda is a Central Arrernte woman on her mother’s side (Alice Springs). Both grew up in community (Wadawurrung Country). Their background is crucial for the important work they undertake through the co-operative. In addition to providing practical assistance to First Nations peoples, John and Belinda derive great satisfaction from being connected to their community. “Growing up, I saw firsthand how our mob is treated by police, and I knew I wanted to be a part of the change and the healing,” said John. “From a legal standpoint, I am a lawyer who seeks to keep police accountable, and achieve the best outcomes for our mob. And from a First Nations perspective, I’m here to help Indigenous clients who present with a broken or wonky spirit, and help nurture that spirit so it becomes strong once again.”

Belinda is also proud of the difference the clinic has made in the community and to the Wathaurong Aboriginal Cooperative, “I’m delighted that this clinic has been able to provide a service to more than 100 clients in under 12 months,” she said. “It has given our First Nations community a safe environment, passed our knowledge to the Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative to use in their service delivery and provided comfort to First Nations peoples in that they know a specialist legal service is available to support them.”

To view the Victoria Legal Aid article Creating stronger connections to community in partnership with Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative in full click here.

external view of Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative building

Image source: City of Greater Geelong website.

The system is the real “terror” in youth justice

In an opinion piece published today in the National Indigenous Times,  CEO of the National Justice Project, Adjunct Professor George Newhouse says “It’s the WA Government and not “terrorists” that are the cause of the troubles in Banksia Hill youth detention centre. How can the WA Premier Mark McGowan get away with describing a group of kids with disabilities as “terrorists”? Especially when we know that many of them grew up in the care and control his own State’s Child Protection system. Most of these so-call “terrorists” are in Banksia Hill on remand. Tragically, children are often held in Banksia Hill because they have nowhere to go if they were released. They could and should be supported in a group home or a purpose-built boarding house instead of prison.

So, who are these children? It’s a fact that around 89% of the kids in Banksia Hill have been found by the Telethon Foundation, one of Australia’s leading children’s’ health research organisations, to have a severe neurodevelopmental impairment, and over one third of the children were found to have been suffering from Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD). These are significant impairments. But to deflect attention away from his own government’s abject failure to protect children in State “care”, Premier McGowan launches an attack on them. He wants us to believe that the problems are caused by a few ‘rotten apples” and not his own government’s systemic failures. Failures that have been obvious for decades.

During a recent visit to the facility, Australia’s National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds said: “These are children in need of care and treatment for complex disabilities and serious mental health problems.” Allegations that the children are “monsters” or “terrorists” have been slammed by the former President of the Children’s Court of WA, Denis Reynolds who said: “The Premier and the Minister are saying these are bad, bad children behaving badly, ignoring deliberately any reference to [their] unlawful treatment. It’s the treatment in that place that is causing the behaviour and that’s what we want to stop.”

To view the National Indigenous Times article The system is the real “terror” in youth justice in full click here.

ATSI male youth holding sign 'Close Down Banksia Hill Detention Centre', Aboriginal flag in the background

Photo: Giovanni Torre. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

Drinking fountains alone won’t fix water issues

Water plays a significant role in Aboriginal culture. Respect for and understanding of water has enabled Aboriginal people to thrive for millennia in very hot and remote places. The impacts of colonisation including introduced species of plants and animals, farming and overuse of rivers and ground water, compounded by global warming, has dramatically reduced water access and quality, and in some places threatened the water supply. Recent coverage of the quality of drinking water in Walgett, NSW, again highlights that clean, safe drinking water is not a right in Australia. Walgett residents say the water is unsafe to drink and they’re backed by scientists from the George Institute who report an urgent need to address drinking water quality.

The reasons for poor or limited water supply vary. They include river flows and environmental health issues, infrastructure, and insufficient skilled, credentialed staff available to conduct water quality checks. But understanding the causes is one thing. Taking active steps to address them is another. When clean, safe water doesn’t flow to communities, they are more likely to drink sugar-sweetened beverages. A 2020 study, available here, visited three remote schools with high proportions of Aboriginal students. Initial results, gathered in 2014, found 64% of children regularly drank sugary drinks. Some 5% thought drinking water was “unhealthy”. In some places in Australia that’s true at least some of the time.

The availability of safe drinking water impacts tooth decay, obesity and diseases like diabetes. Australia has drinking water quality guidelines but they are not mandatory.

When cold, filtered water fountains were installed in 2018 that 84% of children at those same schools drank water every day. The percentage who regularly drank sugary drinks shrank to 33% in the intervening four-year period. A follow-up study found towns of lower socioeconomic status were less likely to have access to community drinking water and more likely to have a high Aboriginal population. So, Aboriginal people are particularly disadvantaged by this issue. It also found that in many towns the cheapest drink is soft drink.

To view The Conversation article Drinking fountains in every town won’t fix all our water issues – but it’s a healthy start in full click here.

young ATSI girl drinking from water fountain

Image source: Government News.

Victoria’s budget delivers health funding boost

Yesterday three Victorian Ministers released a joint media release Doing what matters for patients and healthcare workers. They said the Andrews Labor Government is doing what matters: giving our healthcare system – and the dedicated workers who care for Victorians – a $4.9b boost in the Victorian Budget 2023/24. This Budget will deliver on every promise we made to Victorians at the election – with more healthcare workers, new services, the latest equipment and new and upgraded hospitals across the state. That’s on top of more than $54b we’ve invested in our healthcare system – as well as the workers we need to run it – since coming to government in 2014.

Of particular relevance to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health is:

  • $153m to establish 20 new comprehensive women’s health clinics, an Aboriginal-led clinic and a mobile health clinic, nine new women’s sexual and reproductive health hubs, scholarships to expand the women’s health workforce, an inquiry into women’s pain management and 10,800 extra laparoscopy surgeries
  • $2.5m to establish an LGBTIQ+ suicide aftercare service, continue Strong Brother Strong Sister for young Aboriginal Victorians in Geelong and deliver Youth Live4Life for young regional Victorians
  • $256m to support a health‑based response to public intoxication, continue the life-saving North Richmond Medically Supervised Injecting Room and expand our Naloxone and Pharmacotherapy programs
  • $35.1m to Aboriginal community health organisations to deliver 100,000 extra additional Aboriginal community healthcare appointments
  • $86m to increase the time newborns spend with maternal nurses, help mums struggling with breastfeeding, support new dads – and expand our Early Parenting Centre network with a new centre in Northcote and an Aboriginal-led centre in Frankston

To view the Victorian Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas, Minister for Ambulance Services and Mental Health Gabrielle Williams and Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers Lizzie Blandthorn’s joint media release Doing what matters for patients and healthcare workers click here.

group of Strong Brother Strong Sister participants & staff holding Aboriginal flag

The Strong Brother Strong Sister program will receive funding under the 2023–24 Victorian budget to continue to operate. Image source: Strong Brother Strong Sister Foundation website.

Copper detected in Yarrabah health service’s tap water

Staff at an Aboriginal community health facility near Cairns have been offered bottled water and precautionary blood tests after tap water at the service was found to contain elevated levels of copper. Testing of the Yarrabah Health Facility’s mains water in March detected the presence of high levels of copper. It’s understood the issue is isolated to the clinic and has not affected the quality of the drinking water in the wider community. Tropical Public Health Services director Richard Gair said investigations into the facility’s plumbing system were ongoing. Meanwhile, bottled water was being provided to staff and visitors.

“The health service has engaged an expert hydraulic engineering firm to investigate the plumbing system within the facility and make recommendations,” Dr Gair said in a statement. He said senior officers from the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service, including experts in environmental health and medical doctors, had met twice with staff at the Yarrabah Health Service in May to answer questions and share with them plans to address the water quality issues.

“Any staff who work within the health facility, including Gurriny Yealamucka and Queensland ambulance staff, have been offered a precautionary blood test for elevated copper levels,” Dr Gair said. “The testing is free and voluntary. The drinking water elsewhere in Yarrabah community complies with the Australian drinking water guidelines.”

To view the ABC News article Water at Yarrabah Aboriginal community health precinct found to have elevated copper levels in full click here.

aerial view of Yarrabah, N Qld

Users of the Yarrabah community Aboriginal health facility are on alert. Photo: Brendan Esposito, ABC News.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website Current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.

Key Date – Palliative Care Week 2023

During this year’s Palliative Care Week (21–27 May 2023) NACCHO is showcasing some of the amazing programs and resources available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Gwandalan Project is one such program that supports palliative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities. ‘Gwandalan’ is a word from the Darkinjung and Awaba language meaning rest, peace or resting place. For this project, the Gwandalan word represents the spiritual aspect of the palliative and end-of-life journey, with the hope that the spirit is at rest and peace as a result of good palliative care and a ‘good death’.

Education and training materials for the Gwandalan Project aim to support relationships between service providers, frontline staff and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities through cross-cultural education and the sharing of knowledge. This will be achieved through the provision of education and training to support increased capacity in those who care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples during their palliative and end-of-life journey. The Gwandalan Project does not address clinical palliative care content but rather, supports the provision of culturally safe and responsive palliative care by upskilling frontline staff to contextualise care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and deliver services in a way which supports a good ‘finishing up’.

Access to all Gwandalan education and training materials, listed below, is free of charge, thanks to funding by the Australian Government under the Public Health and Chronic Disease Care Grant, National Palliative Care Projects.

  • eLearning Modules – a series of engaging eLearning modules to support frontline staff to deliver culturally responsive palliative care
  • Workshops – face-to-face workshops across Australia to learn about delivering culturally safe palliative care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
  • Webinars – a series of interactive webinars on various aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander palliative care which expand on the learnings from the Gwandalan online modules

You can find more information on the Gwandalan website here.

tile Gwandalan logo & text 'Gwandalan Supporting Palliative Care for ATSI Communities'

Image source: Gwandalan website.

May 23 2023

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Stan Grant steps down as Q+A moderator

feature tile image of Stan Grant with hand to his heart; text 'The media "is the poison in the bloodstream of our society" - Stan Grant's last stand on ABC's Q+A'

The image in the feature tile is from an article Stan Grant: Q+A presenter cites ‘poison’ of the media as he steps away from ABC show published earlier today in The Guardian.

The NACCHO Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health News is platform we use to showcase the important work being done in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health focusing on the work of NACCHO, NACCHO members and NACCHO affiliates.

We also share a curated selection of news stories that are of likely interest to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector, broadly.

Stan Grant steps down as Q+A moderator

Last night at the end of the ABC Q&A program presenter Stand Grant explained why he was stepping away from his role as moderator:

“Sometimes, we need to just take time out. Sometimes, our souls are hurting and so it is for me. I’ve had to learn that endurance is not always strength. Sometimes, strength is knowing when to say stop.

“And to those who have sent messages of support, thank you so much. But I’ll be OK. Please, send that support and care to those of my people, and all people who feel abandoned and alone, who are wondering whether they have a place in this country and who don’t have my privileges.

“To those who have abused me and my family, I would just say – if your aim was to hurt me, well, you’ve succeeded, and I’m sorry.

“I’m sorry that I must have given you so much cause to hate me so much, to target me and my family, to make threats against me. I’m sorry. And that’s what yindyamarra means. It means that I am not just responsible for what I do, but for what you do. It’s not just a word. It is sacred. It is what it means to be Wiradjuri. It is the core of my being. It is respect. It is respect that comes from the Earth we are born into. From God. Baiame. If I break that, I lose who I am.

“I am down right now, I am but I will get back up. And you can come at me again, and I will meet you with the love of my people. My people can teach the world to love. As Martin Luther King Jr said of his struggle, ‘We will wear you down with our capacity to all love’.

“Don’t mistake our love for weakness it is our strength. We have never stopped loving and fighting for justice and truth – the hard truths – to speak in our land.

Yindyamarra Winanganha means to live with respect in a world worth living in. And we in the media must ask if we are truly honouring a world worth living in.

“Too often, we are the poison in the bloodstream of our society. I fear the media does not have the love or the language to speak to the gentle spirits of our land. I‘m not walking away for a while because of racism – we get that far too often.

“I’m not walking away because of social media hatred. I need a break from the media. I feel like I’m part of the problem. And I need to ask myself how, or if, we can do it better.

“To my people — I have always wanted to represent you with pride. I know I might disappoint you sometimes but, in my own little way, I’ve just wanted to make us seen. And I‘m sorry that I can’t do that for a little while. To my family – I love you. And to my mum and dad, Balladhu Wiradjuri Gibir Dyirrimadalinya Badhu Wiradjuri Mandang Guwu. Good night.

You can view Stan Grant’s speech on video by clicking this link.

Stan Grant speaking on Q+A Monday 22 May 2023

Stan Grant’s impassioned Q+A speech last night. Image source: The Guardian.

Bowel Cancer – Just Get Screened

Bowel cancer is a preventable cancer and if caught early it can be successfully treated in more than 90% of cases. We know that more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people participating in bowel cancer screening means that more cancers will be prevented or detected early, and more lives will be saved.

Next month is Bowel Cancer Awareness Month so in preparation, we are getting in early to remind people between the ages of 50–74 to complete a bowel cancer screening test. It is quick, easy to do and can be done in the comfort of your own home.

 

Birthing healthy, strong babies on Country

Professor Yvette Roe leads a collaborative partnership that is transforming maternity care to promote the best start in life for First Nations children. The partnership is translating the successful Indigenous Birthing in an Urban Setting study (IBUS) into rural, remote and very remote settings.

First Nations mothers are 3–5 times more likely to die in childbirth than other mothers. Their babies are almost 2 times more likely to die in their first year, often because they were born too soon (preterm). Changing this is a priority for closing the gap in First Nations health outcomes. Closing the Gap Target 2 is ‘Children are born healthy and strong’.

Yvette led the IBUS to help close the gap in Brisbane. The exemplar Birthing in Our Community service reduced First Nations preterm births from 14.3% to 8.9%. There were other improvements:

  • more First Nations women were seen in early pregnancy
  • women needed less intervention during birthing
  • more mothers were breastfeeding
  • fewer babies were admitted to neonatal units.

‘We saw all these amazing clinical outcomes that we have not seen before in Australia,’ Yvette says. ‘The Birthing in Our Community service also saw a cost saving of $4810 for every mother-baby pair to the health system, compared to standard care.’

To view the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care article Birthing healthy and strong babies on Country in full click here.

tile: image of Professor Yvette Roe & text ' Medical Research Future Fund - Professor Yvette Roe, Co-Director, Molly Wardaguga, Research Centre, Charles Darwin University

Image source: Department of Health and Aged Care website.

Supporting the Uluru Statement from the Heart

The Board of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT) has reconfirmed its strong support for the Uluru Statement from the Heart and its recommendations regarding the establishment of a constitutionally enshrined ‘Voice to Parliament’ alongside a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making and truth-telling.

At its meeting in Katherine on 12 May, the AMSANT Board considered current circumstances impacting on the recognition and achievement of the Statement’s objectives. “Our Board Directors are strongly of the view that the Uluru Statement from the Heart provides the nation a precious opportunity to begin to resolve our unfinished business and to achieve fundamental change for our people”, said AMSANT Acting Chair, Rob McPhee. “The vision and goodwill that has been offered to the nation through the Statement requires and deserves our trust.”

The AMSANT Board emphasised its strong endorsement of the First Nations-led process that culminated in the National Constitutional Convention at Uluru in May 2017, bringing together First Nations delegates from across Australia to meet and to form a consensus position on the form that constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should take.

To view AMSANT’s media release Supporting the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full click here.

Uluru Statement from the Heart document

Photo: Richard Milnes, Alamy. Image source: The Guardian.

Mental health crises linked to deaths in police ops

Almost half the people involved in critical incidents with NSW police over the past five years were experiencing a mental health crisis, while the number of Indigenous people killed and seriously injured doubled last financial year, according to a new report.

The NSW Law Enforcement Conduct Commission’s (LECC’s) 5-yearly report into “critical incidents” included seven recommendations including an urgent call for better mental health training for officers. A critical incident is a police operation that results in a death or serious injury. The commission looked at incidents from mid–2017 to mid–2022, of which 12% involved First Nations people. Thirteen Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died, while six were seriously injured. Between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2022, six Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died, while two were seriously injured. That represented at least double the numbers for each of the four years prior.

The report also warns of significant delays to internal investigations of critical incidents. The delays are caused by police practice to wait for the conclusion of criminal or coronial court proceedings before commencing critical incident investigations. “This process can take years,” the report said. “The chance to swiftly improve policies and practices is being missed.”

To view The Guardian article Mental health crises linked to almost half of all deaths or serious injuries in NSW police operations in full click here. You can also read a related ABC News story Man shot dead by police after reports of stabbing in Brisbane suburb of Grange here.

shoulders of NSW police showing NSW Police badge

The NSW Law Enforcement Conduct Commission five-yearly report into critical incident investigations shows 12% involved First Nations people. Photo: Dean Lewins, AAP. Image source: The Guardian.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website Current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.

Key Day – National Palliative Care Week 2023

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) says National Palliative Care Week, running from 21−27 May, is a good time to have important conversations about death and dying with loved ones.  The AMA welcomes this year’s National Palliative Care Week with the theme: ‘Matters of Life and Death’ and its special focus on the palliative care workforce and volunteers who support patients and families living with a life-limiting illness.

AMA President Professor Steve Robson said  “Death, dying, and bereavement are all unavoidable and integral parts of life, but we struggle with them. Even for health care professionals, reflecting on and discussing death with patients and their families can be profoundly confronting and difficult. We need to be able to have open and frank discussions and be educated about death and dying, so we can normalise and encourage discussion on these topics, both in the medical profession and in the wider community.

“There is a lot to understand about the role and purpose of palliative care, advance care plans, non-beneficial treatment, caring and bereavement. We could all be better prepared if we took the time to look into these issues and what it means for families. National Palliative Care Week is the perfect time to do this.”

The National Palliative Care Week website, available here, profiles a range of health professionals and volunteers highlighting their experience and life lessons in supporting patients and their families with life-limiting illnesses.

The AMA’s Position Statement on End-of-Life Care and Advance Care Planning 2014, available here, lays out what good quality end-of-life care should look like.

You can view the AMA’s media release Matters of life and death should be discussed and normalised in full here and a video on Advance Care Plans especially for mob below.

Nov 2 2022

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Get hair this Movember!

The image in the feature tile is a a Twitter post from Kambu Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Health promoting their Movember event held at their Ipswich clinic, Queensland on 27 November 2020.

Get hairy this Movember!

Movember is the leading global charity changing the face of men’s health, focusing on mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer. Since 2003, Movember has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world. Movember has set the goal of reducing the number of men dying prematurely by 25 and halve the number of deaths from prostate and testicular cancer by 2030.

For more information visit the Movember website here. This website includes examples of projects funded by Movember such as (1) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Men’s research, a 12 month research grant to conduct research into common mental disorders among Koori Men, and to identify, test and investigate whether treatment for common mental disorders results in an improvement in general health and wellbeing of Koori Men; and (2) Mibbinbah, otherwise known as ‘Men’s Spaces’, an organisation, program and concept that centres on the idea that men require safe spaces within their communities to discuss issues and share experiences. This conceptual basis is similar to that of the Men’s Sheds program.

NACCHO staff participants of the 2022 Movember challenge.

Calls for data after NT alcohol bans lifted

A lobby group has called on the NT to release more data illustrating the extent of the harm caused, since long-term alcohol bans were lifted across dozens of Indigenous communities in July this year. There is particular concern around the level of alcohol-related harm occurring in the Central Australian town of Alice Springs, which serves as a services hub for dozens of surrounding communities.

While the NT government said there had been “no substantial increases” in harm to the community since the Stronger Futures legislation ended, police and other frontline organisations have told a different story about the impact alcohol is having. In the the latest NT Police statistics, there was a 159% jump in assaults involving alcohol in Alice Springs in August 2022, compared to the same period last year.

But the extent of the harm cannot be fully captured without additional data being from the NT government, according to leading alcohol reform lobby group People’s Alcohol Action Coalition (PAAC). PAAC spokesperson John Boffa said the number of assaults causing serious harm — broken down by region — was a key data set held by the government.

To view the ABC News article Alcohol data dashboard still in the works after bans lifted, as assaults surge in Alice Springs in full click here.

Dr Boffa wants real-time data on alcohol harm to be made public. Photo: Tobias Hunt, ABC News.

Lowitja Institute Major Grant Round webinar

Lowitja Institute’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Major Grant Round 2022-23 is now open for applications.

The purpose of the Major Grants is to support innovative and responsive community research led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled organisations to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The aim is for research to influence policy and practice through the rapid translation of community priorities for improved outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing. It will also support the capability and capacity building of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations to do their own research, their way.

Applications are now open and close on Monday 21 November 2022. More information can be found on the Lowitja Institute website here.

Following success of the first Q&A webinar held on Friday 28 October 2022, and with the closing date for applications fast approaching, the Lowitja Institue Research and Knowledge Translation team will be hosting a second webinar to answer any questions community organisations may have with the application process.

The webinar will be hosted on Friday 4 November 2022 at 12.30pm AEDT. You can sign up for the webinar here.

Background image from Bond University website.

Campaign to bust end-of-life services myths

A new campaign placing the spotlight on palliative care services for Indigenous people has been launched by Australia’s health sector. Palliative Care Australia’s (PCA) Federal Government-funded More Than You Think campaign launched in September to prompt conversations and connect people to end-of-life care and support.

Palliative Care Australia chief executive Camilla Rowland said the campaign was challenging misconceptions about the service. “The campaign helps communities tap into the support that is currently available and builds awareness of some to the questions this stage of life can prompt, but our friends in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector tell us that much more needs to be done,” she said. “PCA has engaged with a group of Aboriginal health leaders to create the Palliative Care Yarning Circle to offer advice on existing programs and consider next steps. “It’s important to us that this work is led and shaped by the people it seeks to serve.”

Ms Rowland said cultural sensitivities needed to be understood for culturally appropriate care to be delivered. Complementing the More Than You Think campaign and PCA’s ongoing advocacy is the grassroots work of the Indigenous Program Experience in Palliative Approach (IPEPA), Caring@Home, and the Gwandalan Palliative Care Project.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Palliative Care Australia launches campaign to bust myths about end-of-life services in full click here. The video below is part of the animation series: Demystifying palliative care and dying for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples available on the Palliative Care NSW website here.

Making all equal at front door of health system

Following the outcome of this year’s Federal Election, Health Minister Mark Butler convened the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce (SMT). At its first meeting, the SMT established five focus areas to guide its recommendations to the Australian Minister of Health and Aged Care. The fifth focus area is to provide “universal health care and access for all through health care that is inclusive and reduces disadvantage.”

Providing universal healthcare means every person needs to be equal at the front door of the health system. It is well established that “where you live, how much you earn, whether you have a disability, your access to services and many other factors can affect your health”. These issues are compounded by issues related to funding models, workforce capacity and workforce distribution.

Planning true universal health care requires recognition of the health issues facing our most marginalised members of society. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) states that: Overall, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from areas of socioeconomic disadvantage, people in rural and remote locations, and people with disability experience more health disadvantages than other Australians. These disadvantages can include higher rates of illness and shorter life expectancy. Further, the AIHW reports that While many aspects of Indigenous health have improved, challenges still exist. Indigenous Australians have a shorter life expectancy than non-Indigenous Australians and are at least twice as likely to rate their health as fair or poor.

To view the article The Strengthening Medicare Taskforce: Making everyone equal at the front door of the health system in full click here.

Image source: STAT+.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website Current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.

Lung Cancer Awareness Month

Lung Cancer Awareness Month is observed annually in November and highlights the need for more research to be conducted while cultivating a better understanding of the disease. This is an important time of the year, that brings the community together to help provide awareness, and to inform and educate people on the signs and symptoms of the disease. It is the fifth most common cancer in Australia, with around 12,000 Australians diagnosed each year. In 2015, 11,788 new cases of lung cancer were diagnosed in Australia, this equates to nearly 9% of all cancers that were diagnosed that year. In 2016, 8410 deaths were caused by lung cancer in Australia.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report Cancer in Australia 2021 lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. If lung cancer is found at an earlier stage, there is more chance of a better outcome. It’s important to know the symptoms of lung cancer as although lung cancer occurs mostly in people aged 60 and over, it can affect people of any age. New and constantly evolving treatments such as immunotherapy are likely to continue to improve outcomes for people affected by lung cancer.

You can find more information about lung cancer on the Lung Foundation Australia website here.

Image source: MNA Group Limited website.

Oct 31 2022

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: NACCHO Conference 2022 highlights

The image in the feature tile is of NACCHO Chair Donnella Mills at the NACCHO Members’ Conference 2022, Tuesday 18 October 2022.

NACCHO Conference 2022 highlights

The two videos below include highlights from the NACCHO Youth Conference 2022 held on Monday 17 October 2022 and the NACCHO Members’ Conference 2022, held from Tuesday 18 to Thursday 20 October 2022.

Coonamble AHS launch new health app

The Coonamble Aboriginal Health Service (CAHS) has broken new ground by developing a mobile app to connect people to health services and promotion. The Fair Dinkum Choices ™ app was launched on Friday 21 October at Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo with a bevy of high profile supporters on hand.

Glen Inglis, former NRL International, has signed on to help champion the app and spoke at the launch about his own story and his Goanna Academy, the first accredited and Indigenous-owned mental health organisation in Australia. He was joined by current NRL player Brett Naden, former National Basketball League star Tyson Demos, the Honorable Mark Coulton MP, Rob Skeen CEO of the Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council (AH&MRC), Andrew Coe, CEO of the Western Public Health Network, the CAHS Board of Directors and other government officials as well as community members and school students. Master of Ceremonies for the launch was comedian Sean Choolburra and Coonamble’s own Castlereagh Connection provided musical entertainment.

CEO Phil Naden says that CAHS have been working on the app for at least 18 months. “It came out of a grassroots health promotion conversation we had in the community,” Mr Naden said. “We got the idea for the wording ‘Fair Dinkum Choices’ from Jonathon Knight out in Bourke.” “He talks a lot on social media about making ‘fair dinkum choices’ and so I rang and asked him if we could turn this into a health promotion and he said ‘go for it.'”

To read the Western Plains App article CAHS launch health app in full click here.

Beau Ewers, Jonathan Knight, Phil Naden at the launch of ‘Fair Dinkum Choices’. Photo: Bageshri Savyasachi. Image source: Daily Liberal.

Police, not crime behind swelling prisons

In a speech to the Australian Institute of Criminology today, Assistant Minister for Treasury, Dr Andrew Leigh, said Australia’s incarceration rate has more than doubled since the mid-1980s while most crimes have fallen.  Leigh said the “issue has instead been with how we have chosen to handle complex social challenges. Stricter policing, tougher sentencing and more stringent bail laws appear to be the main drivers behind Australia’s growing prison population.”

In 2020 research, Leigh – a former economics professor – estimated recurrent spending on prisons totalled $4.7b annually, or $240 for every Australian adult. If the incarceration rate remained at its 1985 level, Australia would save $2.6 billion annually.

Incarceration particularly affects Indigenous Australians, among whom “the incarceration rate has risen from 1% in 1990 to 2.3% today,” and is now more than twice as high as when the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody report was delivered. “Based on the available data, incarceration rates for Indigenous Australians are higher than for African-Americans in the US. They are also higher than for Indigenous people in Canada, NZ and the US.”

University of SA emeritus professor of law and criminal justice Rick Sarre said Leigh was smart to frame the argument as an economic one, adding there were “thousands of things you could do” with the money states poured into incarceration. If you pump [the funds] into welfare services, child protection, Indigenous mentoring, mental health support, supplementing income for families in crisis, then you’re going to get far better bang for your buck than waiting for people to screw up and putting them behind bars, which is probably the most inefficient way of stopping crime,” Sarre said.

To view the Brisbane Times article Policing, not crime is behind swelling prisons – and it’s costing billions: MP in full click here.

Image source: Law Society Journal Online.

Health Literacy Strategy – we need your feedback!

The National Health Literacy Strategy Framework Paper is now open for public consultation.

Your feedback is important and will be used to inform the content, approach and structure of the National Health Literacy Strategy.

NACCHO is encouraging all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations, including the health sector, to please take a few minutes to complete the National Health Literacy Strategy Consultation Online Survey here.

The deadline for input is Wednesday 9 November 2022.

You can access the strategy and online survey below:

Consultation Paper – Development of the National Health Literacy Strategy

National Health Literacy Strategy Framework Consultation Survey Questions

Image source: Australian Commission of Safety and Quality in Health Care.

First care standard on stillbirth launch

You are invited to join the online launch of the first national Stillbirth Clinical Care Standard, developed by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. The event will be streamed live from the Annual National Stillbirth Forum being held from 3–4 November 2022.

Stillbirth is a tragic and profound experience that affects more than 2,000 families in Australia every year. Despite being the most common form of perinatal death in Australia, the experience of stillbirth can be hidden due to stigma, taboo and a culture of silence.

At the launch of the Stillbirth Clinical Care Standard from12:30 PM – 1:30 PM AEDT Friday 4 November 2022 you can hear leading experts discuss best practice in preventing stillbirth, investigations after stillbirth and the importance of bereavement care after perinatal loss. This event is relevant to all healthcare professionals involved in providing care during pregnancy, and after stillbirth or other forms of perinatal loss.

Click here to register.

ACCHOs issuing bowel cancer screening kits

Catch Bowel Cancer Early.

From October 2022 ALL ACCHOs can issue bowel cancer screening kits direct to community.

For more information contact the NACCHO Cancer Team by phone 0498 290 059 or by email using this link.

$171m for Qld end-of-life care

Palliative and End-of-Life Care Strategy and Queensland Health Specialist Palliative Care Workforce Plan launched last week. In a statement, minister for health and ambulance services Yvette D’Ath said she understood people with life-limiting illnesses wanted choice and a greater say in where they wished to die.

A total of $102m of the government’s extra investment will go to attracting, recruiting and retaining a specialist palliative-care workforce through the state’s health network. This will include an extra 231 full-time frontline employees such as professional nurses, doctors, physios, and counsellors. “First Nations communities will also benefit from a significant increase in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers, as well as targeted funding to trial innovative models of care to support families experiencing sad news and/or sorry business when losing a loved one or community member.”

To read The Mandarin story Queensland invests more for services to bring dignity to end-of-life in full click here.

Image source: Gwandalan Supporting Palliative Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities website.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website Current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.

Oct 6 2022

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: ACCHOs to deliver Integrated Team Care Program

The image in the feature tile is from the Nhulundu Health Service (Gladstone, QLD) Integrated Team Care  webpage.

ACCHOs to deliver Integrated Team Care Program

Aboriginal Medical Services (AMSs) in Western NSW will reap new funding from a revised program which aims to improve health outcomes for Indigenous patients with chronic illnesses, while also increasing capabilities of the services themselves.

CEO of Western NSW Primary Health Network (WNSW PHN), Andrew Coe, has announced the Integrated Team Care Program will be delivered by AMSs in the region from January 1, 2023.

“We are very excited that the revised Integrated Team Care Program is giving us the opportunity to support the enhancement of capacity and capability in our region’s AMSs and deliver even better health outcomes for Indigenous people living with chronic disease in Western NSW,” Mr Coe said.

WNSW PHN’s decision and new funding from the Integrated Team Care Program was welcomed by CEO of Coonamble, Dubbo and Gilgandra AMSs, Phil Naden. “I’m looking forward to a strengthened approach in working with WNSW PHN and I’m keen to commence the project in our locations to service Aboriginal clients in the region,” Mr Naden said.

The revised program was a “powerful opportunity” for service providers and people in their care, according to chief executive officer of Orange AMS, Jamie Newman. “Our organisation is very excited by the ‘place based’ approach by WNSW PHN for the Integrated Team Care Program and the disbursement of funds to each AMS in the region,” Mr Newman said.

“We are ultimately responsible for the care and treatment of our clients in Orange and to have the authority to make a decision on additional support for our clients who meet the Integrated Team Care criteria is welcomed and supported by our team”.

Walgett AMS (WAMS) CEO Christine Corby and chief operations manager for WAMS and Brewarrina AMS (BAMS), Katrina Ward, said the revised program was “guaranteed” to help local people wanting care.

To view the Daily Liberal article Western NSW Primary Health Network announces Integrated Care program funding will boost Aboriginal Medical Services in full click here.

Moorditj Koort Aboriginal Corporation (MKAC) ITCP staff. Image source: MKAC website.

COVID isolation rule change ‘too early’

The NT’s peak Aboriginal health body has criticised national cabinet’s decision to scrap mandatory COVID isolation rules. From October 14, COVID-positive people will no longer be required  to isolate for five days at home.

John Paterson, CEO of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT (AMSANT), said it was “too early” to let COVID-positive people freely move about the community and potentially spread the virus. “We’ve had more Aboriginal deaths in the Northern Territory from COVID than non-Aboriginal people,” he told ABC Radio Darwin. “We have to ensure that we keep the most at-risk population safe and prevent this very serious virus from entering into our vulnerable communities.”

To view the ABC News article AMSANT boss John Paterson says COVID isolation rule change is ‘too early’ for ‘vulnerable’ Aboriginal communities in full click here.

A related LADbible article Expert warns it’s too early to ditch Covid-19 isolation rules due to vulnerable Indigenous communities can be read here.

AMSANT CEO John Paterson. Image source: ABC News.

AMA rejects NSW pharmacist trial

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has urged the NSW State Government to abandon any consideration of a trial that would allow pharmacists to prescribe antibiotics for urinary tract infections (UTIs), saying it will lead to poorer outcomes for patients. AMA Federal President Professor Steve Robson said  “There are critical issues facing general practice with years of underfunding pushing significant numbers of GPs to retire earlier, while fewer doctors are choosing general practice as a speciality.”

“Governments need to come to the table with viable solutions to support general practice and build collaborative models of care — not changes that completely undervalue the quality of care that is provided through general practice and fragment patient care. This dangerous experiment signals a lack of respect for general practice and the years of training, experience, and knowledge required to properly diagnose and treat a medical condition. If implemented in NSW, it will have dire consequences for the future of the workforce.”

Professor Robson said the trial was bad for general practice and there was also little prospect that it would alleviate pressure on our public hospitals.

To view the AMA media release Pharmacist prescribing a dangerous proposition which won’t fix workforce issue in full click here.

Image source: Hospital and Healthcare website.

Improving maternity services for mob

More than 250 representatives from First Nations communities, health services, universities and research institutes, will join together in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) to explore the scope for system-wide reform to secure the ‘best start to life’ for First Nations babies and their families. The 2022 Best Start to Life Conference: a national gathering in Mparntwe is being co-hosted by Molly Wardagugu Research Centre, Charles Darwin University (CDU) and Central Australian Aboriginal Congress (CAAC) to improve maternity services for First Nations communities and, ultimately, reduce maternal health inequities in the Northern Territory.

To view the joint CAAC and CDU media release Maternity services redesigned for First Nations women in full click here.

Photo: Bobbi Lockyer. Image source: ABC News.

Involuntary treatment could cause harm

Clinicians in charge of admitting people to involuntary drug and alcohol treatment are concerned about potentially re-traumatising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the process, according to Australian research. The team conducted in-depth interviews with 11 clinicians, 6 of whom had committed a First Nations person to one of two facilities in NSW.

The researchers say while nine of the 11 participants say ethnicity does not influence the decision to refer someone to involuntary care, 10 of 11 said they were worried the process could be culturally unsafe. Taking people off their country and removing them from their families were major concerns, the researchers say. Greater involvement of Aboriginal healthcare services and care that approaches physical health, mental health and addiction at the same time were proposed as potential ways to improve the system.

To view the SCIMEX article Clinicians worry admitting First Nations people to involuntary drug and alcohol treatment could cause harm in full click here.

Image source: Dreamstime website.

Access to vital blood tests in remote health

A newly funded Flinders University project is looking to improve access to full blood examination tests for rural and remote healthcare patients, improving patient outcomes and reducing health costs, while ensuring equitable health access for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Despite being the most requested lab pathology test in Australia, full blood examination tests are not reliably accessible in rural and remote communities, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment.

The study will trial a newly available point-of-care testing (POCT) device which provides full blood examination results in less than 10 minutes, a significant improvement from the current laboratory test turn-around times of around 3 to 7 days in remote communities. Project Chief Investigator Dr Brooke Spaeth, Research Fellow and Coordinator of Flinders University’s NT POCT Program, says the availability of the test is especially important for time-critical clinical conditions, such as sepsis, where early and accurate diagnosis can significantly improve patient outcomes and has the potential to save lives.

“The rapid results of the point-of-care full blood examination test is likely to improve the diagnosis detection of sepsis, which disproportionately effects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly in remote communities of the NT, therefore reducing sepsis related morbidity and mortality,” says Dr Spaeth.

To view the Flinders University media release Ensuring access to vital blood tests in remote health care in full click here.

Image source: Well in Truth website.

Youth offender laws to be reviewed

After years of crises in WA’s youth justice system the State Government announced on Tuesday it will undertake a review of youth offender laws. Corrective Services Minister Bill Johnston has directed the Department of Justice to examine the extent to which the Young Offenders Act 1994 is achieving its objectives.

Banksia Hill, WA’s only dedicated youth detention facility, has been the scene of multiple serious disturbances including riots in 2013 and 2017. Aboriginal children are radically over-represented in the youth justice system and particularly in youth detention. Recent data shows Indigenous young people are 21 times as likely as non-Indigenous youth to be incarcerated in WA.

This month the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA told the Royal Commission they had received hundreds of complaints about conditions in Banksia Hill, including allegations of excessive physical violence, strip searches, sexual assaults, use of solitary confinement, and racism.

Indigenous and international human rights law expert Hannah McGlade said the review was welcome but there was also a need for urgent reform. “A youth justice task force needs to be urgently established to address the crisis. There are serious concerns Aboriginal children and youth are at high risk of self-harm including suicide. We are calling on the government to support and ensure Aboriginal children (in the justice system) have culturally appropriate health care from Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service.”

To view the National Indigenous Times article WA Government to review crisis-plagued youth offender laws in full click here.

Photo: Danella Bevis. Image source: The West Australian.

Sector Jobs

Sector Jobs – you can see sector job listings on the NACCHO website here.

Advertising Jobs – to advertise a job vacancy click here to go to the NACCHO website Current job listings webpage. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to find a Post A Job form. You can complete this form with your job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.

Aug 12 2022

NACCHO Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health News: Months after floods, mob still homeless

Image in the feature tile of the Lismore floods in March 2022. Image source: Southern Cross University article Lismore floodwater enough to fill half of Sydney Harbour published on 23 May 2022.

Months after floods, mob still homeless

After moving accommodation five times in five months, Nyangbal and Dunghutti woman Teresa Anderson has had enough. The elder’s Cabbage Tree Island home, nestled on a flood plain of cane fields in northern NSW, was deemed uninhabitable after the February floods. She has been homeless since. “I’ve been moved around five times,” she said.  It’s taken a toll on my health. I couldn’t even cope, I couldn’t go to work. It just got me really emotional.” Teresa Anderson was in good health before the floods. But she believes a series of new health issues have been direct result of the grief and stress of being displaced. “I‘m struggling,” she said.

According to the Jali Local Aboriginal Land Council, today, almost six months after the disaster, about 500 of the 1,296 northern NSW residents that are still homeless are First Nations people.  “That tells me clearly that we’re disproportionate again in relation to the numbers of people that are homeless,” Widjabul man and Jali Land Council chief executive Chris said.

To view the ABC News article Indigenous families still homeless months after the floods, as leaders say First Nations people are being overlooked for rentals in full click here.

After moving five times in five months, Teresa Anderson says she’s had enough. Photo: Emma Rennie, ABC News.

Discrimination a key homelessness factor

WA Commissioner for Equal Opportunity, Dr John Byrne AM, says a lot of discussion is had about how to fix homelessness once it has occurred.  While Dr Byrne says “this discussion is an extremely important one as we do need more affordable housing and shelters for people who cannot access WA’s ever inflating rental market” he believes “it is important to explore one of the major factors that allows homelessness to occur – discrimination.”

Dr Byrne said he’d “like to do this by focusing on three of the major grounds of discrimination: sex, impairment and race, which also relates to three major cohorts within the homeless population.” Systemic race discrimination is also a contributing factor to homelessness.  Aboriginal people make up around 3% of the total population and 28% of the homeless population. This is also a community impacted greatly by systemic discrimination and bias in employment. Aboriginal people are under-represented in decision making roles at work and over-represented in unemployment, this is also exacerbated by over representation of Aboriginal people in our prison system. Prisoners often need to have housing before release on parole and may remain in prison at significant expense to the state due to lack of housing.

To view the WA.gov.au article From the Commissioner – Fix homelessness by addressing discrimination in full click here. A related WA Department of Communities news story Homelessness Week 2022 ends highlighting progress is possible if we work together mentions the success of Booloo Bidee Mia, a supported accommodation service for Perth CBD rough sleepers, and is available here.

Aboriginal people living in Victoria make up 8% of those sleeping rough, despite being only 1% of the population. Photo: AAP. Image source: SBS NITV.

AMC mental health reforms criticised

The delivery of mental health services to detainees at Canberra’s Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) – particularly the 24% who are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander – is ineffective, the Auditor-General declared in a March report. The ACT Government last week agreed to most of the report’s recommendations – 10 fully, eight in principle, and one noted, to be delivered through a different tool – by the end of 2023.

Aboriginal advocate Julie Tongs, head of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health and Community Services, which runs an autonomous Health and Wellbeing Clinic in the prison, is concerned some of these measures have been tried before and failed. “I feel like I’m in a time warp,” Ms Tongs said. “It’s a challenging environment, but why waste money when money’s short on the ground?”

Nor, she said, was Winnunga consulted; decisions were made without them. “All the buzz about co-design – the decision’s already been made – so how do you co-design around that? What role do we now have to play in that, when we weren’t at the table to discuss any of this?” Government, she says, must have a discussion or a roundtable to sort this out; she is keen to sit down with stakeholders and work out their processes and expectations.

To view the Canberra Weekly article ‘Time warp’: Winnunga critical of mental health reforms at AMC in full click here.

Alexander Maconochie Centre. Photo: Ian Cutmore, ABC News.

Palliative Care Clinic Box launched today

caring@home today launched its Palliative Care Clinic Box which contains a suite of tailored resources to support the provision of palliative care at home for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The launch, taking place at the Compass Conference in Darwin, follows an 18-month nationwide consultation process with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, health professionals in specialist and generalist services and relevant peak bodies.

Project Director, Professor Liz Reymond said the resources can support the provision of at home palliative care symptom management. “When care at home is preferred, it can be provided to help connect family, culture, community, Country and the spiritual wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.” This project is funded by the Australian Government and is conducted by a consortium involving Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives and Palliative Care Australia (CATSINaM) and is led by the Brisbane South Palliative Care Collaborative.

The caring@home Palliative Care Clinic Box is free and can be ordered from the caring@home website here. You can view the caring@home media release about the launch of its Palliative Care Clinic Box here.

Caleb follows pathway to healthcare job

As part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander career pathway day, Far North Queensland Indigenous students have been given a glimpse into the world of healthcare. Revolving around the opportunities available at Mater Private Hospital in Townsville, students from the region’s high schools attended an information day where they learnt about the healthcare needs of First Nations people and Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander traineeships. Mater Townsville Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander liaison officer Beth Hickson said the career day provided students with meaningful pathways they might not have otherwise known about.

One student who has benefited from the program is Caleb Baker, who recently won the school-based apprentice or trainee of the year. Mr Baker is currently working at the Mater Private Hospital while completing his Certificate III in health services assistance. “I was nervous about how I would transition from school to work, but just being acknowledged as someone who can work hard has made me feel really good about it,” he said.

Since he was young, Mr Baker has always wanted to make an impact. He cites empowering fellow Indigenous folk in healthcare as one of his main goals, with sights set on how better healthcare could help close the gap. “Having more Indigenous people in the health industry can help break down those barriers. It would make Indigenous people who are seeking help about their health feel a lot more comfortable, Mr Baker said.

To view the National Indigenous Times article Caleb Baker’s life goal help people through healthcare, and it all started with a hospital work placement in full click here.

Mater Townsville Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander liaison officer Beth Hickson, Caleb Baker and Seed Foundation engagement officer De’arne French. Image source: National Indigenous Times.

Health sector must lead on climate change

Over 300 people, including the Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly, attended the AMA and Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA) webinar – Climate change and sustainability: leadership and action from Australian doctors earlier this week.

Laureate Professor Nicholas Talley outlined the duty medical professionals have in treating climate change as a global health emergency, and Professor Alexandra Barratt highlighted the carbon footprint of low value care. Eleven medical colleges provided updates on the climate action they are taking, and highlighted specific climate change health impacts related to their specialty.

Professor Robson wrapped up the webinar saying “As President of the AMA, I seek a strong and united coalition for action because I don’t think we have any time to lose. As a profession, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to bequeath a heathy planet to our children and their children. “Climate change will have health effects on a scale that people are barely able to comprehend. We’re already seeing a series of rolling health crises around the world, but these are just the beginning. We’re facing the prospect of literally billions of climate refugees across the planet, it’s a crisis so enormous that it’s almost impossible to grasp.”

You can read The National Tribune article AMA & DEA urge health sector to lead on climate change here and the joint AMA and DEA media release Governments and the healthcare sector must lead on climate change here.

Photo: Adobe Stock. Image source: Healio.

High-tech, low-resource medical training

Port Augusta is embracing its medical practitioners – or kulpi minupa – of the future. The town’s residents are in the midst of hosting an eight-week placement by seven second-year medical students. The aspiring GPs, dubbed “cloud doctors” in the Nukunu dialect, have spent time at the flying doctor service, the hospital and Aboriginal health services to gain an insight into what it would be like working in the country, potentially at Port Augusta.

In what is a new way of medical training, the Adelaide Rural Clinical School linked with the Indigenous community, the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the University of Adelaide to launch the Kulpi Minupa Program. Student Tarran Dunn, who was among a group of undergraduates from Adelaide, NSW, Tasmania and elsewhere, said the experience would shape “the rest of our lives and skills in medicine” He said he and his colleagues had spent time with interns and surgical registrars at the hospital as well as gained an insight into Aboriginal health.

Professor Lucie Walters, director of the clinical school, said the scheme was a “high-tech, low-resource” medical training approach. “If we want to create the next generation of rural doctors to work at the flying doctor service and in remote Australia, we need to train them for the environment in which we want them to work,” she said. “The program brings Aboriginal medical students and rurally-based students to Port Augusta where we are piloting the kind of technology that we need to teach them to work in places such as Port Augusta, Cummins, Arkaroola or Roxby Downs.” The students will work at the ACCHO, Pika Wiya Health Service.

To read The Transcontinental Port Augusta article Port Augusta rolls out the welcome mat for second-year university medical students in full click here.

Image source: Pika Wiya Health Service Aboriginal Corporation Facebook page.

New process for job advertising

NACCHO have introduced a new system for the advertising of job adverts via the NACCHO website and you can find the sector job listings here.

Click here to go to the NACCHO website where you can complete a form with job vacancy details – it will then be approved for posting and go live on the NACCHO website.