Closing the gap in Aboriginal Health a step closer
The Minister for Indigenous Health Warren Snowdon said Aboriginal communities moved closer to designing and addressing their own health needs with the launch of Pathways to Community Control, which is designed to get Aboriginal communities in the NT a step closer to taking primary health care into their own hands.
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11 November 2009
The Minister for Indigenous Health Warren Snowdon said Aboriginal communities moved closer to designing and addressing their own health needs with the launch of a new roadmap in Darwin today.
Pathways to Community Control is designed to get Aboriginal communities in the NT a step closer to taking primary health care into their own hands.
Northern Territory Aboriginal Health Forum Chairperson Stephanie Bell said it was a historic step forward in Closing the Gap of Aboriginal health.
“It is a staged process through which community participation and control can be encouraged, with the aim of transferring the management of Aboriginal primary health care services to health boards directly elected by their members.
“Pathways recognises the absolute necessity of developing and strengthening Comprehensive Primary Health Care [CPHC] through planning, development and delivery at local and regional levels here in the Territory,” said Ms Bell.
“The Aboriginal Health Forum in the Territory has taken a strong stand on developing an evidence-based approach to CPHC, and recognises the strong gains that can be developed through Aboriginal Community Control at the grass roots level.
“The Northern Territory Aboriginal Health Forum represents one of the strongest and most productive partnerships between government and the Aboriginal community-controlled health sector in the nation, and Pathways provides a road map for the principal of ‘working together for our health’ as part of the long term vision of Closing the Gap.”
Minister Snowdon said improved health care for Indigenous Australians was a key priority in the Rudd Government’s program of national health care reform.
“From the start of the reform process, it was agreed that greater levels of community involvement in primary health care would bring benefits all round – benefits to those who deliver the health services as well as to those who use them,” Mr Snowdon said.
“What was required was a more responsive health and family services system, one not only of a quality equal to that existing in other areas of Australia, but also culturally sensitive to the needs of Indigenous people.”
Minister Snowdon said that community-controlled governance of health services was the optimal expression of the right of Indigenous communities to take part in decision-making.
The Australian Government recognises that change is needed, but it is not always easy. It will not be easy for all communities however Pathways to Community Control serves as a guide to responsible transformative change,” the Minister said.
NT Health Minister Kon Vatskalis said, “Experience in the Territory and elsewhere in Australia and overseas shows that tackling health challenges at the family and community level is essential if we are to improve population health overall.
“Involving Aboriginal communities and families in the design and delivery of primary health and family services contributes to a better health system and gets people talking, thinking and doing something about the health of their family and community. In other words, getting involved leads to better health.”
“The Northern Territory Government welcomes the release of this timely and well-argued framework identifying the key role of Aboriginal communities in the delivery of primary health care services. The NT has already started working in a number of regions with Aboriginal communities to progressively implement the framework’s key objectives.”
“I thank the many staff at the Forum partners – NT Department of Health and Families, AMSANT and the Commonwealth – for their clear analysis of the issues and advice on how these might best be addressed.
The Northern Territory Aboriginal Health Forum is the principal partnership mechanism created by the NT Framework Agreement on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health.
The key principles drawing the parties together under Pathways to Community Control are:
- Aboriginal community participation is a key element of sustainable, viable, effective and efficient delivery of primary health;
- a shared commitment to the development of a strategy to secure greater levels of Aboriginal community control in the delivery of primary health care in the NT;
- a shared commitment to foster an effective partnership between governments, communities and providers that ensures best practice governance of services and optimal health gain; and
- a shared commitment to personal and community development as an integral contributor to improved levels of community participation and control.
Media contact: Minister Snowdon’s contact: Alice Plate, 0400 045 999
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