” The Healthy Futures Report card will support our Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services as the preferred model for Indigenous primary health care because our ACCHO services continue to improve in most of our sectors key performance indicators.”
That’s why it’s absolutely imperative that we continue to see in these Healthy Future Report Cards those commitments to programs and health care models that work – programs created by Aboriginal people, for Aboriginal people which involve them in their own health and support them to have brighter healthy futures.”
Mr. Matthew Cooke Chair NACCHO /CEO QAIHC ( Pictured below right with Deputy Chair Sandy Davies.
Article from Page 1 NACCHO Aboriginal Health Newspaper out Wednesday 16 November , 24 Page lift out Koori Mail :
This week in our NACCHO Communique/ newspaper series
Wednesday The Hon Ken Wyatt ” Aboriginal Health and wellbeing are matters close to my heart
Thursday The Hon Warren Snowdon : “ATSI Health needs more that a 10 year plan – It need political will ”
Friday Professor Kerry Arabena ” The First 1000 days -Early Childhood ”
The release of the Healthy Futures Report Card 2016 at the NACCHO 2016 Members Conference in December will be a major step forward in showing the improved performance across all the Aboriginal Community Controlled member organisations according to NACCHO Chair Matthew Cooke.
Published by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and to be launched by the Assistant Health Minister Ken Wyatt the report will consolidate and showcase information about the levels of activities, performance and outcomes achieved by NACCHO members and direct member’s future efforts and planning for improvement.
Mr Cooke said NACCHO had instigated the first Report Cards back in 2015 to provide annual, relevant and authoritative analysis of service provision and performance data produced by its our member services and which contributed to government data bases.
“Our 302 clinics have provided services to over 340,000 clients, about 275,000 of whom were Indigenous (an increase of 8 per cent over 2012-13), provided almost 2.9 million episodes of care, over 2.5 million to Indigenous clients (an increase of 19 per cent over 2012-13) and employed some 3,300 Indigenous staff.
“Data is critical in providing detail of the role and contribution to the delivery by our member services and the sector to the national health system within this evolving funding environment.
This type of Report Card provides an incontestable document that demonstrates the role, outputs and impact of Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCHOs) in providing high quality, culturally appropriate, comprehensive primary health care services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
As I have previously highlighted we are still however a long way from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people achieving the same health outcomes as other Australians,” Mr Cooke said.
The recent Productivity Commission’s Report on the performance of the National Indigenous Reform Agreement has shown that investment in the mainstream organisations is not the answer.
Mr. Cooke re-emphasized his called for a range of measures which will help to close the health gap:
- Ongoing investment in, and expansion of, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services to deliver more care, in more areas, to more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people;
- Funding for the Implementation Plan of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan;
- Improvements in the delivery of medicines under the Close the Gap PBS co-payment measure;
- An improvement in patient coordination between hospitals and primary health care providers and
- Reworking of the IAS program with a view to ensuring programs that work continue to be supported including measures to reduce tobacco use, mums & bubs programs and other social and emotional wellbeing programs run through Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services.
“Closing the Gap has enjoyed multi-party support for more than ten years and generational change doesn’t happen overnight but this Healthy Futures Report Card will confirm that we are heading in the right direction ‘” Mr Cooke said
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