Listen to Wuchopperen Chairperson Donnella Mills talking to Thursday Island radio’s Jenelle Gebadi about Close the Gap.
Wuchopperen Health Service Limited Chairperson Donnella Mills said the 2018 Close the Gap statement demonstrates much more needs to be done to achieve health, education and employment parity between Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians.
Ms Mills said it was time that the government seriously committed to doing better by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, now and into the future, through real partnerships which are community driven and community led.
‘It is very good news that a range of targets, including child mortality, early childhood education and year 12 attainment are on track. The challenge is that other targets, life expectancy, literacy and numeracy, and employment, remain out of reach,’ Ms Mills said.
‘Wuchopperen echoes the call of our peak body, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, for dedicated disease specific funding to be made available to Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation where populations are particularly vulnerable.’
‘In this, the tenth year since the Apology, it is timely to recognise that historical trauma, dispossession, government control and loss of culture, are just some of the social determinants which impact on people’s health, and the ability for people to manage their own health. Wuchopperen recognises the complexity of peoples’ lives and the range of factors which impact health, and provide a comprehensive suite of services to address these.’
‘Wuchopperen is looking forward to being part of the conversation regarding the Close the Gap targets which cease in 2018, and contributing our experience and expertise to formulating new, national goals in real partnership with government
‘These goals must be underpinned by the principles of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander self – determination, freedom to plan our lives; control, a voice and decision making powers over our own affairs; and finding solutions to the issues that affect us.’
What Wuchopperen is doing to help Close the Gap
TARGET: Close the gap in life expectancy within a generation (by 2031)
Wuchopperen’s health team consists of a multi-disciplinary team of health workers, doctors, registered nurses, allied health professionals, counsellors, psychologists, wellbeing workers indigenous liaison officers, and visiting specialists.
TARGET: Halve the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five within a decade (by 2018)
Wuchopperen’s Child Health service provides health education and support to families to make healthy lifestyles choices for their children by keeping immunisations up to date, scheduling appointments for continuity of care health checks, and 100% implementation of care plans for all our patients to ensure they receive the best possible care.
This allows us to:
- Identify risk factors through the increased uptake of Child Health Checks and develop appropriate intervention strategies in conjunction with parents and/or carers;
- Reduce the adverse intermediate health outcomes in relation to children with chronic diseases; and
- Improve and enhance education and awareness of the importance of immunisation to families.
Wuchopperen also provides a dedicated program for mum’s having their first Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander baby. The Australian Nursing Family Partnership Program is available to first-time mothers of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children who are under 26 weeks in their pregnancy. The Program runs from pregnancy until the child is two. The focus is to provide home visiting program to mothers, babies and significant family members to ensure that the child has the best possible start to life.
Staff support:
- Safe sleeping using PEPI pods;
- Implementation of the Circle of Security;
- Parent group meetings; and
- Support for fathers to become involved in their child’s life.
TARGET: 95 percent of all Indigenous four-year-olds enrolled in early childhood education (by 2025) – renewed target
TARGET: Close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous school attendance within five years (by 2018)
TARGET: Halve the gap for Indigenous children in reading, writing and numeracy achievements within a decade (by 2018)
Wuchopperen’s Children and Family Centre is an early intervention and prevention program providing a holistic approach to bringing together education, health and family support. The programs are tailored to suit our community to best support our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families with children from birth to nine years of age and include:
- Delivery of play based early childhood activities to nurture developmental pathways and life trajectory of children;
- Capacity and resiliency support to enable families to support their children and access early childhood education and care; and
- Delivery of parenting programs and family support services to enable connections and strengthen linkages of families to appropriate support services.
Program in focus
Wuchopperen supports early education in a range of ways including running the HIPPY (Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters) Program, a free, family friendly, two year program which helps children achieve at school.
HIPPY benefits pre-Prep children by:
- Encouraging a love of learning
- Maximising their chance of enjoying and doing well at school
- Promoting language and listening skills and developing concentration
- Building self-esteem and confidence in learning
- Improving relationships between parents and children.
TARGET: Halve the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a decade (by 2018).
Wuchopperen currently has 68% staff identifying from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent. Only 31% of Wuchopperen roles are Identified, reflecting the fact that many non-Identified positions are being filled by applicants identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
Placements
Wuchopperen values its relationship with the community and the opportunity for students to gain experience in the workplace is an element of this commitment.
During the 2016-17 financial year Wuchopperen supported eight students to participate in a work placement in a variety of disciplines, including health workers, and fifth year medical students.
Image (L-R): Wuchopperen Chairperson Ms Donnella Mills and Wuchopperen CEO Ms Dania Ahwang
