Representing a commitment to closing the gap in health, Wellington Health Service held a flag raising ceremony with the installation of flag poles across the health district.
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Chief Executive Scott McLachlan said it was just one of many initiatives taking place to make health facilities more inviting for Aboriginal people, and he hoped this would help encourage Aboriginal people to increase access to health services to live healthier lives.
"We want Aboriginal people to access our health services and one way to do this is to create a welcoming and culturally appropriate environment when entering a facility," he said.
"Flying the Aboriginal flag at our facilities shows our recognition that we are on Aboriginal traditional land and we hope that Aboriginal communities see this step as a respectful symbol of our strong commitment to close the gap".
Aboriginal people experience the worst health of any population group within Australia, with lower life expectancy than non-Aboriginal people, high infant mortality rates and high burden of chronic disease contributing to poor health outcomes.
"With over 11 per cent of the Western NSW population being represented by Aboriginal people we have a big role to play in addressing these problems and coming up with solutions to improve health outcomes for our Aboriginal patients," Mr McLachlan said.
The Health District's Strategic Health Services Plan identifies closing the Aboriginal health gap as one of its five strategic priorities, and a recently developed Aboriginal Health Plan provides clear guidance on how the Health District will contribute to improved health outcomes in Aboriginal people.
"Our commitment is that improving Aboriginal health is 'everybody's business' and so changes are occurring from policy and planning through to service delivery and staff attitudes," Mr McLachlan said.
"This includes building respectful relationships with Aboriginal communities and developing culturally appropriate workforce and services that will contribute to closing the health gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people".
Present on the day was Adrian Fahy, director of nursing and midwifery, Joy Adams, general manager of the northern sector, Wendy Moore and Deborah Kenna, senior managers of Aboriginal health and Robyn Hinton local Health Council Chair and president of the Wellington Hospital Auxiliary and Orange Far West regional representative.
