News

Aboriginal Health Service receives top accreditation

Thu, 11 Jul 2013 07:51:00

Health services to Mildura’s Aboriginal community through the Mallee District Aboriginal Services have been given top accreditation in their most recent assessment.

The MDAS Mildura service received the honour from the Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited (AGPAL).
AGPAL chair Dr Richard Choong said the accreditation award showed the practice makes an investment in quality service on a day-to-day basis, from the top down.
“Achieving accreditation is a major step for any practice, and it’s a clear demonstration that MDAS is seeking to improve its level of service to both patients and the community,” he said.
“Practices seek accreditation because they want to be the best, and view this as another step towards excellence.”
The AGPAL accreditation was developed jointly with doctors’ organisations, and is a national voluntary program that aims to provide a range of guarantees to patients in the practice environment.
“The accreditation has involved 12 months of work to implement Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ Standards for General Practices at our Mildura service,” said the acting Practice Manager Samantha Brennan.
“It’s the first time we have been accredited under new and higher standards set by the RACGP, so it’s a real reward to staff for a lot of hard work and commitment,” she said.
The standards train staff in areas such as ensuring vaccines are within their use-by date and are stored in the correct temperature range, the practice equipment is clean and sterile, and that the practice has emergency care available.
“It’s only possible to gain accreditation when staff are highly co-operative and communicate well with each other,” Ms Brennan said.
“Everyone plays a valuable role in working to meet the standards, so we are really proud to have had this endorsement of the quality of our clinic.
“We want clients and patients to know that their wellbeing is our priority, and by being accredited patients know that we are committed to providing quality care that meets the RACGP’s standards.”

The MDAS clinic in Madden Avenue provides health care services to Aboriginal people and their families.  It provides services including GP, specialist and nursing services, chronic disease management, maternity services, children’s, men’s and women’s health, psychological counselling, drug and alcohol counselling and quit smoking programs.