News

Expansion for Swan Hill Aboriginal health services

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:02:00

Swan Hill’s Koori health services are to be expanded significantly after a half million dollar upgrade.

The expansion means the Aboriginal Health Service in Nyah Road is able to provide a full range of culturally-appropriate programs – a virtual one-stop-shop for many of the Koori community’s health needs.

The service is operated under the auspices of the Mildura Aboriginal Corporation, and the MAC chief executive Rudolph Kirby said it had simply outgrown its existing building.

“We have a GP, a practice nurse, midwifery service, health workers and other allied health professionals – the building had got to the point where it was a serious limitation on service delivery,” Mr Kirby said.

“Besides the growing demand, the major stumbling block we were facing was that the former facilities did not and could not achieve accreditation with the GP accreditation body,” he said.

“The former site was not accredited with the appropriate body, and that meant a fairly severe restriction on the sorts of services we could offer.”

Mr Kirby said the expansion had been made possible by the relocation of Vic Roads out of the building.

“That allowed us to reclaim that portion of building and begin to work towards the expansion last year,” he said.

“Now it’s finished it’s cleared the way for us to double the capacity of the GP services, double the hours of the diabetes education program and double the speech pathology service. 

“In addition we are planning to provide new podiatry and physiotherapy services, increase our dietetics and expand our psychology service, including taking a new focus on post-natal depression.”

The Mallee Health Care Network catchment has the highest population ratio Koori residents in Victoria, with the 2006 census finding 3.6 percent of the Mallee population identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. 

Mr Kirby said in addition, the health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians was still well below that of the general population.

“The gaps between the Koori and non-Koori population are a real challenge in the Swan Hill area,” he said.

“Indigenous unemployment runs at more than 20 percent, and on the health front, there are chronic health issues such as depression, diabetes and asthma that are more prevalent in the Koori population.

“There is already rapid growth in the demand for our services, and the client base is expected to continue to grow for the next 20 years.”

Mr Kirby said research had shown an individual’s ability to make positive lifestyle choices was closely related to social and economic capacity.

“As such, the Koori community has significantly higher rates of risky alcohol use, drug use, smoking and poor diet,” he said.

“What we are aiming to achieve with the expansion is a team-based approach to dealing with these health issues.

“Many of our clients present with some sort of acute medical issue, such as a minor injury, but they also bring with them a range of issues, such as mental health, drug and alcohol, domestic violence, housing, transport and chronic disease.

“We’ve developed an effective internal referral system to manage this, but it will be much more effective in terms of outcomes if the services are delivered in an environment that’s not so crowded, is more professional and is culturally-appropriate.”