Published on 15 November 2022
Please join me at Sunshine Hospital this Thursday 17 November from 12-1pm for the launch of the Aboriginal Health Cultural Safety Plan 2022-2025.
The new plan sets out how Western Health will continue to build on our commitment to Aboriginal health and to delivering culturally safe care to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients and families in the west.
As we can see in the yearly reports for the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, progress towards overcoming the inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and achieving life outcomes equal to all Australians remains slow.
Actions outlined in the new Aboriginal Health Cultural Safety Plan will help us as a health service contribute to closing the gap through a range of initiatives that improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
A large part of this involves ensuring that our services are safe and welcoming to Aboriginal patients and their families, which means strengthening elements of culturally safe care at Western Health. This includes having a culturally capable workforce; healthcare systems in place that are responsive to Aboriginal people’s cultural knowledge, beliefs and values; supporting a well-resourced Indigenous health workforce; and creating physically welcoming spaces.
Not only do we want Aboriginal patients and their families to feel safe and heard when accessing our services, we also want to ensure we’re creating a supportive workplace for our Indigenous workforce. This means continuing to support staff in our Wilim Berrbang team – who have an enormous impact on the experiences of Aboriginal patients coming to Western Health – but also doing more to attract Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff to our clinical and support roles too.
Please join me, the Wilim Berrbang team and Western Health’s Aboriginal Health Steering Committee this Thursday for the launch of our new Aboriginal Health Cultural Safety Plan.
Regards,
Shane Crowe
Executive Director Nursing and Midwifery
Date and time: 12-1pm, Thursday 17 November
Where: Western Centre for Health Research and Education (WCHRE) courtyard, Sunshine Hospital