This month I would like to highlight a practice demonstrating an inspiring attitude towards closing the gap on Aboriginal health disadvantage. Dr Nicholas Doong’s Surgery in Burwood is located in an area that has relatively low numbers of Aboriginal residents (0.25% - 2006 Census). However Dr Doong thought that it was important for the practice to make a meaningful contribution. In the letter below, Dr Doong describes the process that led to the entire team attending a recent Cultural Awareness training and the inclusion of a mission statement for Aboriginal patients in the practice’s Policy and Procedure Manual.

28th March 2011

At a staff meeting about a year ago I read out to the members of my staff statistics describing the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Their response: what can we do to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people?

As a result we started our exciting journey in supporting the implementation of “Closing the Gap”: the new health package set up by the Department of Health and Ageing.

After filling in the necessary paperwork we sought support from our Division and met with Kim Toole who works there as the Aboriginal Health Project Officer. She supplied us with leaflets and posters to display in our waiting room. Most importantly she provided valuable advice about policy and organisation details of the new program Kim also organised a Cultural Awareness training program that was conducted in the Division Office. My entire Practice team attended and we found the guest speaker, Julie Wilson, most inspiring.

As a result we have added a new mission statement in our practice’s policy and procedures manual. In essence we will make the effort to identify Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, provide a culturally safe environment for them and prioritise their health care.

Finally my practice consented to allow the Division to inform the Aboriginal community of our commitment.

We are hopeful that our efforts have not only made us more aware of the problems affecting Aboriginal people but have also have helped in enabling us to intervene in a more appropriate and positive way.

Dr Doong’s Surgery in Burwood is one of seventeen mainstream general practices in the CSGPN area that have notified us that they are registered for the Indigenous Health PIP (the Redfern Aboriginal Medical Service Co-operative is also registered). These practices have made a commitment to support their Aboriginal patients to self-identify, provide specific health services including the Aboriginal health check and annotate annotate prescriptions to improve access for Aboriginal people to medications.

Most importantly these practices have undertaken a commitment to learn more about the Aboriginal experience in an effort to create a safe environment and break down the barriers Aboriginal people encounter when accessing health care. Cultural awareness training is a requirement for at least two staff (one of whom must be a GP) for the Indigenous Health PIP. However, there’s nothing to stop a practice from encouraging all staff members to attend the training, as the staff at Dr Doong’s Surgery did.

CSGPN is running another two Aboriginal Cultural Awareness training sessions on 21 July and 13 October.