Safety & Quality Account 2020-21 | 2021-22 Future Priorities

Healthy people

Improving Health Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in our Community WSLHD Safety & Quality Account

WSLHD is committed to improving the health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities through engagement and the provision of safe, high-quality and culturally sensitive care which meets the expectations of the community.

GOT YA BACK MIDIGA (ABORIGINAL CHILD SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLS) The “Got Ya Back Midiga” is a child sexual assault prevention and awareness program for the community. The Got Ya Back Midiga program aims to raise awareness of child sexual assault within Aboriginal communities, by delivering a series of workshops and information sessions to primary school communities (including students, parents, carers and school staff) via an animation. The program is culturally specific to target Aboriginal children who are over represented in statistics for experiencing childhood sexual assault. It is community driven and owned and led by the Integrated Violence Prevention and Response Service (IVPRS) within WSLHD. An evaluation of the program is planned once it has been implemented across primary school communities.

PHOTO: Mt Druitt Aboriginal Hub Close the Gap celebration. Left to right: Jasmin Ellis ( General Manager Integrated Care & Community Health), Jacquie Dominish (Director Allied Health), Braiden Abala ( WSLHD Aboriginal Health Strategy Director).

ABORIGINAL HEALTH – KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY SAFE Several initiatives to keep our Aboriginal community safe during COVID-19 pandemic were instigated and included the: • Development and distribution of essential packs comprised of information pamphlets and masks, designed using Aboriginal culturally sensitive appropriate fabric and pattern in consultation with Public Health • Establishment of a COVID-19 Committee specific to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The Committee was sponsored by WSLHD and includes key decision makers in public health as well as representatives from Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District (NBMLHD)

• Standardised messaging to ensure consistency of information relayed to the community.

PHOTO: Westmead CASB Aboriginal Elders visiting cultural garden. Left to right: Narelle Holden (Aboriginal Liaison Officer), Vicki Lonsdale-Micallef (Red Cross Aboriginal Torrest Strait Islander Social Support Worker).

42