Pangula Mannamurna is attempting to work in partnership with a number of agencies to ensure that Indigenous people in the South East are offered comprehensive primary health care.
International evidence suggests that, as part of a multi-pronged approach, the delivery of comprehensive primary health care for a sustained period of time is essential if Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes are to be improved. In Australia, coordinated and sustained national efforts to improve Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander health have only been begun in the last few decades and have not been supported by adequate resources or a
comprehensive approach.
Comprehensive primary health care involves the delivery of a broad range of services. Whilst it is possible for a stand-alone health service to provide all the necessary service elements, it is more likely that a range of health providers and organisations will work together to provide the different service elements of the system for the given population. Service providers include Aboriginal community controlled health services, general
practitioners, visiting nurses and allied health professionals, State and Territory government health services, public health units, community organisations, schools and local governments. At a local level, the key elements of comprehensive primary health care include:
- Clinical services (including the treatment of acute illness, emergency care and the management of chronic conditions);
- Population health programs such as immunisation, antenatal care, screening and specific health promotion programs;
- Specific public health programs for health gain (for example nutrition, social and emotional well-being and substance misuse);
- Facilitation of access to secondary and tertiary health services and related community services such as aged care and disability services; and
- Client/community assistance and advocacy on health related matters within the health and non-health sectors.
(National Strategic Framework for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health: Context, NATSIHC, Canberra. 2003, p. 21).
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Page last updated on 20 December 2006.
http://www.pangula.org.au/partnershipsa.html
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