Abstract
Australia has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. It provides access to the latest health care technologies and medications, and a wide range of services across the lifespan and across the continuum of care from within the home and the community to high end specialised care. The Australian health workforce is diversely qualified, highly skilled, and competent to deliver safe, high quality, evidence-based care.
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare plays an important role ensuring that the wide range of health service organisations across Australia provide safe and high-quality healthcare.
As good as the Australian healthcare system is at responding to the healthcare needs of the majority of Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remained disadvantaged in accessing health services and experience significantly disparate health outcomes.
For this reason, the Commission has, for the first time, defined six actions which specifically meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards. A comprehensive consultation process resulted in these six actions being defined. Their implementation will help orientate the health system to provide all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with the healthcare they need and has the potential to reduce the gap in health outcomes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians.
This guide provides practical strategies on what to consider and how to bring the six actions to life in any health service organisation. It also provides good practice examples from across Australia that demonstrate that these actions can and are being implemented in some health service organisations.
From a patient perspective it is important that health service organisations successfully implement these actions. In a country like Australia access to good healthcare that is culturally appropriate, as well as evidence based, should be a right for all citizens.
“Getting people healthy should be all of their business and they shouldn’t be just walking around with their heads in the papers. People can be busy, but surely you can’t be that busy to say hello. I wondered how they were going to find out what’s wrong with me because even when the specialists came around they were just a big group of people talking to each other instead of me. I was a bit of a guinea pig”. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patient
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare plays an important role ensuring that the wide range of health service organisations across Australia provide safe and high-quality healthcare.
As good as the Australian healthcare system is at responding to the healthcare needs of the majority of Australians, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remained disadvantaged in accessing health services and experience significantly disparate health outcomes.
For this reason, the Commission has, for the first time, defined six actions which specifically meet the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards. A comprehensive consultation process resulted in these six actions being defined. Their implementation will help orientate the health system to provide all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with the healthcare they need and has the potential to reduce the gap in health outcomes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other Australians.
This guide provides practical strategies on what to consider and how to bring the six actions to life in any health service organisation. It also provides good practice examples from across Australia that demonstrate that these actions can and are being implemented in some health service organisations.
From a patient perspective it is important that health service organisations successfully implement these actions. In a country like Australia access to good healthcare that is culturally appropriate, as well as evidence based, should be a right for all citizens.
“Getting people healthy should be all of their business and they shouldn’t be just walking around with their heads in the papers. People can be busy, but surely you can’t be that busy to say hello. I wondered how they were going to find out what’s wrong with me because even when the specialists came around they were just a big group of people talking to each other instead of me. I was a bit of a guinea pig”. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patient
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Adelaide |
| Commissioning body | Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare |
| Number of pages | 87 |
| Publication status | Published or Issued - 30 Sept 2016 |