Issues Update from the President
Dear CRANAplus members,
The current focus on health care policy changes has put us in a unique position to change the way primary health care is delivered in Australia. CRANAplus has been very busy ensuring that remote and indigenous health related issues are not forgotten in these federal debates. This week, I was in Canberra for a Primary Health Care roundtable focused on intra-professional disagreement regarding the role of nurses and midwives in the future PHC model of Australia. For more information on this topic visit our website to read
"PHC in Australia, a Nursing & Midwifery Consensus View". It was a lively debate where some long held views on roles, responsibilities, skills and capacity were challenged… but not changed!
Next week, I'm returning to Canberra to discuss the development of MBS and PBS arrangements for nurse practitioners. This issue has the potential to significantly impact isolated and indigenous health care as well as that of our rural neighbours. To ensure I'm well informed and can lobby adequately on this topic, I need your input on issues around NP's access to the MBS and PBS in our specific context. In the future I'd like to set up a small working group to ensure we cover all of the issues adequately. Let me know if you'd be interested in participating, or know someone who would be a good resource. Unfortunately the time frames are very tight, so please send your comments to me by email ASAP
Federal Health Minister Roxon is asking CRANAplus members to attend the consultations being held around the country to discuss the Health and Hospitals Reform Commissions recommendations. It will be the public that empowers government to make radical changes to our current conservative model of health care. If you’re interested in consumers, regardless of where they live and having improved access to a system where health professionals are able to perform to their full scope, then please participate in the these meetings. More information regarding consultations, capacity to participate in polls and blogs can be found at: www.yourhealth.gov.au
Cheers from beautiful Brisbane,
Christopher Cliffe
President, CRANAplus
back to top Working Safe in the Rural and Remote Sector Protecting Female Professionals
Members may have heard some of the press this week about a roundtable held in Canberra looking at ways of creating safe working environments in rural and remote workplaces.
CRANAplus was invited to this forum and asked to present on the remote sector. I was pleased to attend the roundtable as both a presenter and group facilitator.
Congratulations must go to RDAA female doctors group for putting on this forum and taking the initiative in bringing this important topic to the notice of government.
I delivered a PowerPoint presentation to the group, which represented over 30 organisations including the police and education unions.
This was a very long day with a number of scenarios offered, with my focus being on working remote and what helps keep people safe in remote indigenous communities.
I certainly did not walk away from the fact that there have been issues of compromised personal safety in our sector, but I talked about the need for adequate orientation, cultural awareness and training, support and knowledge in remote communities. I emphasized the need for staff to have sufficient time and knowledge to make local community contacts as it is my real belief that becoming a part of, and being of value to a community will assist in personal safety as communities where possible will look after their own.
I emphasized the need to become part of but not own a community and to understand and respect local cultures. I did make the point that I felt safer in most communities at night than I do on the streets of all of our capitol cities and that there is a need to look at developing strong community structures in rural areas so that the old fashioned mateship of country towns can be reestablished and used as a safety mechanism for new health providers.
I also pointed out the need for basic common sense by employers; there are few places on earth where people are safe without locks on the doors and windows that don’t shut. The remote sector is no different.
We were well received, with Minister Snowdon, who opened the conference, extolling the virtues of CRANAplus, followed by Senator Adams, who added to that praise.
Goes to show that you guys out there are doing a great job, and it is becoming more and more obvious to the decision makers, that without you, there would be no remote health system.
Congratulations!
Carole Taylor
CEO CRANAplus
back to top Mandatory Reporting Amended
CRANAplus has been a part of a coalition to review the legislation that was introduced last year to bring in mandatory reporting of all young people in the NT who were even suspected of having sex, consensual or not.
There is no doubt that mandatory reporting is non-negotiable for the under 14 group but for the young people of 15 and 16, this decision was having a major health impact. Young people in communities in particular were avoiding health care and the potential for unreported STI’s and pregnancies was huge.
Community members were starting to vote with their feet and there were threats of suicide from at least two young indigenous males already in arranged and consensual marriages at a young age.
The coalition was made up of a very large group of organizations including the sexual assault unit, GP’s, congress, gynecologists, lawyers, not to mention CRANAplus, who worked and lobbied hard for this ill-thought legislation to be changed. Amendments will allow for the reintroduction of discretion for health professionals and other community members working in the NT, who are very aware of the need to report, where abuse is suspected.
We are pleased to announce that we have been successful. This was no mean feat, particularly in light of a political crisis in the NT Government and the fact that the original legislation was driven by the Department of Justice through the police.
Concessions that were made by the coalition included an awareness tool for health professionals so that certain information was gleaned from young sexually active people, to rule out non-consensual sex and an agreement on the need for extra training for professionals dealing with this age group.
Congratulations must go to the ‘Really Caring for Kids’ group many of whom worked on this almost full time since the original announcement and to the NT Government, supported by some independent politicians who were prepared to listen and act in the best interests of our young people.
back to top The Weekly Update
Dear Members,
The world of CRANAplus continues on at top speed. Two of the new Adelaide office staff started this week and are in Alice Springs for two weeks of orientation and FLEC administration training. Their return to Adelaide on August 31 coincides with two more new staff joining the team and the colossal effort of moving the FLEC program to Adelaide.
As of this week, our organization has 16 employees and will grow to 22 in the coming weeks. It is an exciting time at CRANAplus with lots of new faces and plenty of fresh ideas. We’ll be introducing the team and the new office to you in the Friday Flyer in the near future.
We welcome Sunrise Health Service as CRANAplus newest Corporate Member. Sunrise’s purpose is to improve the health and wellbeing of the people in the region east of Katherine in the Northern Territory. This is done through their health clinics and health education, mixing together traditional Indigenous culture and the best of mainstream medicine. Primary Health Care services are delivered from nine health Centres located east of Katherine, along what is known as the ‘Top Road’ (the Arnhem Highway), and the ‘Bottom Road’ (the Roper Highway).
As you can tell from their articles, Carole and Christopher have been on the road and in Canberra representing the CRANAplus position on a wide range remote health related topics.
August is almost over and the Outback Flyer deadline is almost here. Please submit any content to Paula Waggoner by August 28.
Have you looked at the CRANAplus website lately? If so you’ll have noticed among the changes a new tab “Employment’. This is where our Corporate Members and other Health services advise of job opportunities with their organisations. There are both permanent and temporary contracts on offer from time to time so check it out regularly to see what’s on offer and learn more about their service.
Those of you in the Alice area have the opportunity to hear Peter Latz give a presentation titled: “An ethnobotanist's view of Aboriginal bush medicine - past, present and future" which is featured as part of the Centre for Remote Health Seminar series.
If you have any articles or information you would like to share with fellow members please forward to us. Read on and have a great weekend.
Cheers,
Anne-Marie
back to top National Maternity Services Plan
By Sue Kildea, CRANAplus Vice President
Chair of Midwifery - Australian Catholic University and Mater Mothers Hospital
Access to rural maternity services is a priority area in the forthcoming national Maternity Services Plan. The National Consensus Framework for Rural Maternity Services developed by ACRRM , RACGP [NRF], RANZCOG, RDAA, ACM and RHWA and the AHMAC Primary Maternity Services in Australia are among recent documents that set out the principles and attributes that must characterize these services, but in practical terms, we lack evidence-based instruments to gauge what maternity services should should be available in the diverse environments of non-metropolitan Australia.
Canada faces similar issues in delivering maternity care to rural areas. Responding to these challenges, Dr Stefan Grzybowski and his colleagues at the Centre for Rural Health Research (CRHR) in British Columbia have developed a Rural Birth Index (RBI), a flexible policy and planning tool for determining the level of maternity services appropriate in small rural communities. The RBI is an objective measure that weights population and fertility, social vulnerability and isolation in a score for consideration against a framework of recommended service levels. As it rates each catchment area separately, the RBI is sensitive to varying needs and circumstances and so avoids the blunt categorization of conventional population benchmarking.
The RBI provides the basis for a pragmatic process that includes assessing the feasibility of services in terms of current resources (workforce, infrastructure etc) and policy & budgetary priorities.
The RBI was developed and validated in BC but its conceptual structure is generally applicable to service planning in rural Australia, though given the differences in our health systems and physical environments, it would need to be adapted and tested here.
The linked flyer invites you to join a small multidisciplinary workshop to examine the potential applicability the RBI to Australia and, should this be feasible, how best to use it as an evidence-based key to sustainable rural maternity services. Attachments 2 and 3
are articles which explain the background and operation of the RBI: CRHR (2008) - A systematic approach to rural service planning - the Rural Birth Index (RBI); Gryzbowski S et al (in press) - Planning the optimal level of local maternity service for small rural communities: a systems study in British Columbia. Health Policy
back to top Conferences and Meetings
The Centre for Remote Seminar Series 2009
26th August 2009
"The Future of Remote Australia: An ethnobotanist's view of Aboriginal bush medicine - past, present and future"
Peter Latz grew up at Hermannsburg, Central Australia, as the son of a stock manager. He studied biological sciences at Adelaide University, and enthnobotany at the University of New England. He is author of three books; Bushfire and Bushtucker; Pocket bushtucker, a field guide to the plants of Central Australia and their traditional uses and The Flaming Desert. Come and listen to the findings of this undisputed master of the Central Australian Bush
Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses (CATSIN)
16 - 18 September 2009
This conference will be dedicated to former patron of CATSIN Sadie Canning MBE. The conference theme is "We can do it- Yes we can!".Keynote address:Tom Calma"Closing the Indigenous health inequality gap by 2030"
Consultation on Drug and Alcohol Issues Darwin
Dr John Herron, Chairman of the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) and Associate Professor Ted Wilkes, Chair of the National Indigenous Drug and Alcohol Committee (NIDAC), are inviting people working in the alcohol and other drugs (AOD) sector to express their opinions and share their experiences regarding NT drug and alcohol issues and ways to address them.
13th Annual NT Chronic Diseases Network Conference
The theme of the 13th Annual Chronic Diseases Network Conference is 'Prevention is the Best Medicine', which reflects the growing recognition that chronic diseases and their underlying factors are preventable.
Chronic diseases not only result in death and disease, they are also a large economic burden on the community and the health system. 70% of the difference in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians can be attributed to chronic diseases.
Changing faces: Dental Hygenists Association of Australia Symposium 2009
The Dental Hygenists Association of Australia are holding their 2009 Symposium in Adelaide. The focus is on 'changing faces' and the role that dental hygienists' play in providing dental hygiene care across the life span.
back to top Articles of Interest
The news stories shown below are collected from a variety of electronic sources. To read the entire story, just click on the headline and you’ll be linked to the story from its original source.
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Queensland Health Minister Paul Lucas has announced a two-year extension of the State Government's 'Deadly Ears' program in the state's Indigenous communities. Under the scheme, ear, nose and throat surgeons travel to Queensland's Indigenous communities to operate on children with hearing problems.
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Health practitioners in the Northern Territory will no longer have to report all cases of underage sex under new legislation expected to be passed in Parliament this week. Currently, health professionals have to report anyone under the age of 16 who is believed to be having sex, even if it is consensual and with partners their own age.
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Blackouts and water shortages are jeopardising the education of children at a central Australian outstation, a federal Northern Territory politician says.
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Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says the State Government's existing contracts with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) will not be affected by a tender process that is underway.
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A national maternity consumers' group says women will be forced to use unregistered midwives if they want homebirths from the middle of next year. The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee last night tabled its report on the health legislation amendment bill, which looks at the issue of midwives.
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The former head of a $700 million Aboriginal housing project claims Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin made unrealistic promises to build 750 houses in remote communities because of poor advice and a lack of basic budget analysis by senior commonwealth bureaucrats.
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Welcome to UN Special Rapporteur, Professor James Anaya. It is a pleasure and privilege to welcome Professor Anaya to Australia. In March last year, the Human Rights Council appointed Professor James Anaya as Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of Indigenous people.
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Concerns about mental health services and access to community transport will be raised at a community planning meeting with the New South Wales Premier in Armidale today.
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La Trobe University has confirmed it will start a paramedics course next year. The four-year course will be available at its Bendigo, Shepparton and Wodonga campuses.
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A $105 MILLION cut to federal subsidies for chemotherapy drugs has been deferred a second time as the Rudd government considers a less politically damaging savings option.
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The Rural Doctors Association says a lack of education is leading to a rise in the number of sexually transmitted infections (STI) in Queensland.
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South Australia's Health Minister John Hill says two-thirds of Port Pirie's children now have acceptable blood lead levels.
He says figures have improved by 24 per cent on levels in 2005.
The target is for children under five to have less than 10 micrograms of lead per decilitre of blood by the end of next year.
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Australian researchers have come up with a new theory about cancer tumours, turning conventional thinking on its head.
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Euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke will demonstrate a controversial drug-testing kit in Darwin this weekend. In 1996, the Northern Territory became the first jurisdiction in the world to legalise voluntary euthanasia.
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Local residents fighting to save the Gulgong Hospital are refusing to accept alternative services proposed by the New South Wales
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The Australian Education Union is calling on the federal Education Minister, Julia Gillard, to step in and rescue a Northern Territory Indigenous tertiary institution that is in financial strife. The Batchelor Institute provides tertiary education for about 3000 Indigenous people, including residents of remote communities.
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An Indigenous stolen wages campaigner says he hopes legal action by the Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) will stop money from a State Government compensation fund being spent on scholarships.
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Organisers say the first stages of a pilot program to help overweight children in Broken Hill have been successful.
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A new international trial spearheaded by a Newcastle-based research group has given new hope for breast cancer patients. The Australian New Zealand Breast cancer trials group based at Newcastle's Calvary Mater Hospital made a major contribution to the international trial of the drug letrozole.
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The Federal Government will take delivery of two million doses of swine flu vaccine by the end of next week, with the first vaccinations likely to occur in September, Health Minister Nicola Roxon said.
Pregnant women and people with underlying medical conditions will be treated first if human trials currently underway reveal the vaccine is safe.
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