BALLARAT and District Aboriginal Cooperative, or BADAC, is holding cultural awareness training for first call practitioners next week.<\/p>\n
The session, which costs $220, is a full day of face-to-face training for doctors, practice mangers, pharmacists, nurses and other practitioners about culturally appropriate primary care.<\/p>\n
It has been organised in collaboration with Primary Health Networks, or PHN.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe PHN have reached out to aboriginal organisations across the Southwest to develop cultural awareness training for medical practitioners front of house staff, specialists and everyone,\u201d said Shu Brown, chief executive of culture, public relations and engagement at BADAC.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be delivered by local experts in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Topics include cultural and colonial history, inter-generational trauma, culturally safer practices, health equity and cultural bias awareness.<\/p>\n
Research indicated that in 2019, 20 per cent of indigenous people or their families reported experiences of racial discrimination with medical practitioners.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis session is for first responders so it\u2019s for anyone who works in that first point of contact and how to work with the community, how to identify issues and how to be culturally safe when speaking to the community,\u201d said Mr Brown.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery area might be different and that\u2019s why we\u2019ve tailored it to each region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Brown said it\u2019s important that healthcare practitioners have this training so aboriginal people feel safe when visiting a provider.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe run our own medical service here for our aboriginal community and we get GPs coming in to learn from us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen aboriginal people don\u2019t have to rely on the aboriginal service and come here, they can feel safe at all services.\u201d<\/p>\n