Aboriginal Health Program
Contact
Andrew Morrison
Aboriginal Health Program
Email Andrew Morrison
Tel. 8480 4610
Overview and local context
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Community Services Directory
Practice Incentives Program (PIP) Indigenous Health Incentive - Dec '09
Closing The Gap
Health Assessment item 715
Aboriginal Health Promotion and Chronic Care (AHPACC)
Resources
Items of Interest
Overview and local context
The northern suburbs are home to Victoria's largest Aboriginal community.
Melbourne's north Indigineous population profile
2,436 people who identify as being Indigenous live in the northern suburbs. (2001 Census)
- Darebin 1058
- Whittlesea 691
- Hume 677
The Division is actively involved in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Thus includes developing a state-wide directory of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and health services, now available on-line (details below).
The Division works closely with the Aboriginal Community Elders Service (ACES); the Kookaburra Club, the Men's Shed and with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs at local community health services.
Back to Top
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Community Services Directory
Contact
Simone Morrison
Project Officer
Email Simone Morrison
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Directory can be found at www.atsihealth.org
The Directory has been designed to be easy to use and accessible. It is the successor of a directory compiled by the Northern and North East Valley Divisions and the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service in the mid 1990s and has now been re-launched as a comprehensive state-wide directory.
It aims to give the community a list of services and resources to help both Indigenous and mainstream providers in referring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients to local, culturally relevant services in both rural and urban areas of Victoria.
A holistic approach to health care is the basis for the directory. For this reason spiritual, cultural and social resources are included as well as health services.
Back to Top
Practice Incentives Program (PIP) Indigenous Health Incentive
The new Practice Incentives Program (PIP) Indigenous Health Incentive will commence in May 2010. This incentive will support general practices and Indigenous health services to provide better health care to Indigenous Australians, including best practice management of chronic disease.
There will be three types of payments available through the PIP Indigenous Health Incentive:
- Sign-on payment
- Annual patient registration payments
- Outcomes payment
Click here to download the full information document.
Back to Top
Closing The Gap
Health Assessment item 715
Access the MBS item 715 template (downoad and import into Medical Director Letter Writer).
(Scroll down to ATSI section). Also located on the MBS page are fact sheets.
Expression of Interest - Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) 'Closing the Gap' Collaborative Program (June 2010)
Closing the Gap Aboriginal Health in Practice Survey (May 2010)
Closing the Gap – Indigenous Chronic Disease
Website for the Indigenous Chronic Disease Package – an important part of the Australian Government’s response to closing the gap in Indigenous health outcomes.
Aboriginal Health Promotion and Chronic Care (AHPACC)
Improving Aboriginal health and wellbeing through a partnership approach.
The Northern Division of General Practice has a long history of working in partnership with Aboriginal communities and agencies to improve the health and well-being of the community. The Aboriginal Health Promotion and Chronic Care (AHPACC) program is an initiative that can support, extend and build on the strength of this previous work.
Click here to download the AHPACC program outline.
Back to Top
Resources
- PIP Indigenous Health: form versions for practice software
DoHA has just released Word and Rich Text Format (RTF) versions of PIP Indigenous Health Incentive forms that can integrated with practice clinical software systems. You can download these from the Resources section of the ACRRM website. The range of PIP forms and guides (in .pdf or .rtf) are still available on the Medicare Australia website. You can also request them directly from the PIP Enquiry Line, 1800 222 032, or by emailing pip@medicareaustralia.gov.au.
- Austin Hospital Ngarra Jarra program outline: useful information on working with local Indigenous patients
The Ngarra Jarra program is back to support Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) patients, carers and families. Equally the program exists to assist GPs and practice staff in the referral of patients to the Austin (inpatient/outpatient). The program is there to provide a cultural safety net for ATSI patients throughout their treatment journey. The program employs 2 Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Officers (Suzanne Nelson and Robin Munro) who are available to help GPs with any referral protocols/issues relevent to Aboriginal people.
Relationships with Aboriginal People and Organisations - From the perspective of health services, this is the key to improving cultural safety and being able to make appropriate referrals, both to the primary health system and post discharge. From the perspective of Aboriginal people, these relationships are the basis for building confidence to attend hospital at an appropriate time and to feel safe to identify as an Aboriginal person.
This program has been absent for a period (prior to 2009) and is now operational again.
Contact details:
Suzanne Nelson Mon-Friday on Tel. 9496 5638 or call switch on Tel. 9496 5000 and pager 1864. Robin Munro Wed-Friday on Tel. 9496 5834 or pager 1865.
We encourage you to use the services of these hospital liaison staff who are dedicated to ATSI patients and the health professionals who treat them.
Click here to visit the Ngarra Jarra page of the Austin's website (NEW!! October '09)
Items of Interest
Closing the indigenous health gap - Article from Australian Family Physician
Author: Ian Anderson, Chair – Indigenous Health, Centre for Health and Society, Melbourne School of Population Health, University of Melbourne
Back to Top | 
