Issue 8, October 2009
Welcome
It has been
a very busy few months since my last Communiqué in June. Training
has been increasing with two different workshops in some weeks. AHCSA
has also been conducting workshops for members on various programs which
have provided an information sharing forum for the Secretariat, Chairs,
CEOs and staff, and the development of a number of Action Plans.
The biggest impact on AHCSA these past few months has been the downsizing at SA Health, in particular, the Aboriginal Health Division (AHD) which abolished 14 full-time positions. This will have an effect on service delivery to Country Health SA (CHSA), AHCSA and members. To ensure the needs of Aboriginal people in country areas are met, our partnership with CHSA will strengthen, we will continue to support AHD where possible, and have regular meetings with AHD Executive Director April Lawrie-Smith and CHSA Executive Director Rob Zadow.
In early August, AHCSA had its full Board meeting at Roxby Downs which was well attended by members. On the day before the meeting, Board training was provided to the Chairs.
AHCSA is currently reviewing the constitution; is represented on the Spirit Festival committee; reviewing and re-signing an MoU with GPSA; and is planning for the next Aboriginal Primary Health Care Workers Forum in late October.
The quarterly meetings between AHCSA Chairperson Yvonne Buza, Dr David Scrimgeour, Richard Nelson, myself and Minister John Hill, SA Health Chief Executive Tony Sherbon and CHSA Chief Executive George Beltchev have proven to be very valuable for sharing information between the Aboriginal community controlled sector and mainstream health.
I hope you enjoy this issue of CEO Communique. If you have any queries, please contact Mandy Green or Alison Hambour on (08) 8273 7200, or email mandy.green@ahcsa.org.au.
Kind Regards
Mary Buckskin
Chief Executive Officer
Aboriginal Health Authority needs developing:
NACCHO
In a recent media release, NACCHO
stated “While Aboriginal health is seen as a priority by the National
Health and Hospital Reform Commission (NHHRC), its central
recommendation of a Health Authority to aggregate Aboriginal health
funding and purchase services is barely developed in its report.”
Dr Mick Adams, NACCHO Chair, said “The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Authority concept is an interesting option we have discussed within our sector and it would have assisted if the Commission had further explored a range of models for it”.
COAG Implementation
Group
AHCSA is involved with the new COAG initiatives
in an advisory capacity on the COAG Implementation Group. The group has
representation from the Department of Health and Ageing, SA Health, GPSA
and Rural Doctors Workforce Agency. A couple of meetings have already
been held to discuss the direction of COAG Actions such as Tackling
Smoking, Workforce and Chronic Disease. The COAG agenda has been driven
by the government and this is AHCSA’s opportunity to consult and provide
direction at the state level with NACCHO contributing at the national
level.
Close
the Gap
AHCSA held a Close the Gap workshop for members’
Chairs and CEOs to begin the first stage of the development of an
‘Implementation Strategic and Action Plan to Close the Gap for South
Australia’. The Action Plan will accompany the Statement of Intent and
will address the needs, strategies and goals for each ACCHS and AHAC
region. A second workshop is planned for late October.
Aboriginal Maternal and Infant
Care Training (AMIC)
AHCSA has formed a partnership
with CHSA to deliver AMIC training. AMIC workers have been recruited in
Port Augusta and the selection process is underway for a number of
regional sites around the state.
Aboriginal maternal infant care has long been an identified area of need. The training will not only help to build capacity within the Aboriginal health workforce but will also help to ensure the provision of much needed culturally appropriate and accessible maternal and infant health care services for the Aboriginal community.
CCRE
The
CCRE has come to an end with the final report submitted to the NHMRC.
Copies of CCRE publications are available on www.ahcsa.org.au A proposal
for funding is currently being developed for an ongoing Sector Research
Support Officer position, a key focus of which will be to support AHCSA
members in research.
Puyu Wiya Training Program
The
AHCSA Puyu Wiya Smokecheck Tobacco Brief Intervention Training Program
presentation has been given an enhanced visual image with a new Puyu
Wiya logo and vivid western desert colours, designed by Dreamtime Public
Relations. The presentation now also contains recent data on
smoking.
The Puyu Wiya Program has been designed to train Aboriginal Health Workers to assist smokers who may be considering how to quit. AHCSA has registered the program on the Centre of Excellence in Indigenous Tobacco Control website http://www.ceitc.org.au
Puyu Wiya Coordinator Harold Stewart has been talking to Aboriginal health teams about the high prevalence of smoking tobacco (51% in the Aboriginal community) and the harmful effects to health. Smoking accounts for 20% of all Aboriginal deaths, just one of the disturbing facts in Harold’s presentation ’Why Smoking is a Silent Deadly Killer’ which have shocked many people.
University SA Smoking Study
The
University of SA is conducting a research study among Aboriginal Health
Workers in community controlled services and state government health
teams. The study titled ‘Smoking Reduction Strategy Development and
Intervention among Aboriginal Health Workers’ has been approved by AHCSA
and the Aboriginal Health Research Ethics Committee.
Education &
Training
The ‘bridging program’ to gain competencies for the
‘new’ Certificate III is still in progress. Trainers are engaged in a
recognition process with students across the state.
The third round of workshops for the refresher training in clinical skills is currently underway and AHCSA expects 75 graduates by the end of the year. Aboriginal Health Workers with the old Certificate III qualification will upgrade skills to include the additional clinical competencies of the new Certificate III.
Certificate IV Training and Assessment has been completed for 2009 with 11 graduates from SA, WA and VIC.
Fifteen students are half-way through Certificate IV Indigenous Research Capacity Building and will complete their final workshop in November and graduate by the end of the year.
Public
Health
An AHCSA Public Health Network has been formed with
representatives from all ACCHSs in SA and meets monthly via
teleconference.
On 13-14 October, an Aboriginal Health Check Workshop is being held in conjunction with General Practice SA. GP Divisions and staff from general practices have been invited. Some of the agenda items are:
- The role of Aboriginal adult and child health checks in improving health outcomes
- Medicare issues
- The PIP Aboriginal health incentive
- Chronic pain and prescription drug abuse
- Screening for mental health issues as part of health checks
Sexual Health
Sexual Health
Coordinator Clinton Dadleh is providing support to ACCHSs for improved
sexual health services with an initial focus on the development of a
coordinated STI screening program. Later this year, staffing and
resources will be discussed with services and the needs scoped for each
region.
Pandemic Influenza
Mary Anne Williams,
consultant employed with funds from the SA Aboriginal Health Partnership
(SAAHP) has been supporting ACCHSs with managing H1N1 (Swine flu) as
well as preparing them for any future possible pandemics which could be
a resurgence of Swine flu or bird flu.
Fortunately, all of the health services managed the outbreak with no problems and they are better prepared even if the next pandemic is more severe. The Swine flu vaccine will be rolled out in early October and Mary Anne will be helping services with this.
Good
Medicines Better Health
The GMBH program is gearing towards
the national roll out of the ‘Train the Trainer’ package and working
towards accreditation. Partners, AHCSA, NACCHO and NPS, are also
discussing the resources required to ensure implementation and
sustainability of the program at a national level.
ATSIHRTONN
The ATSIHRTONN website has been
completed and available at www.atsihrtonn.com.au An ATSIHRTONN
Communiqué has also been developed and is available to download or
subscribe to from the website.
On 25-26 June, a national workshop for ATSIHRTONN member RTO staff was held at the Aboriginal Health College in Sydney. Feedback from the 25 participants was positive and their enthusiastic engagement over the two days made the workshop a huge success.
A National Network meeting is being held on 22-23 September in Cairns.
Accreditation Workshop
A workshop was recently
held for members to assist with information on the accreditation
processes they will be undertaking as part of OATSIH requirements. The
workshop aimed to:
- Inform member services of the range of supports and resources for accreditation
- Share member stories of past and current accreditation experiences
- Identify barriers and issues in achieving accreditation
- Provide strategic direction in advocating for member services
The workshop outcomes and further information is available from Paul Ryan, paul.ryan@ahcsa.org.au, tel: 8273 7200.
AHCSA News
The next AHCSA News
will be out in December. If you do not currently receive a copy and
would like to be added to the distribution list, please email amanda.mitchell@ahcsa.org.au or call (08) 8272 7300.
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