Submitted on 26 May 2015
By Leeanne Pena
The first Aboriginal Medical Service in Australia was established at Redfern in Sydney in the early 1970’s, which was in part a reflection of the aspirations of Aboriginal people for self-determination in the intense, melting-pot environment of Redfern. It was also a response to the urgent need to provide decent, accessible health services for the swelling and largely medically uninsured Aboriginal population of Redfern.
Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS) also known as Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services or organisations (ACCHS/ACCHO) to distinguish them from state government controlled services that exist on Aboriginal communities are controlled by the local Aboriginal community via elected boards of management.
The primary health care approach adopted by the first AMS and other early ACCHS’s was innovative and mirrored international aspirations at the time for accessible, effective, appropriate, needs-based health. The impact of ACCHS’s in the Aboriginal community came to be more than just an effective health service provision; through employment, education of staff engagement, empowerment, and social action, ACCHS’s have also become key strategic sites for Aboriginal community development.
New ACCHS were being established in various parts of Australia throughout the 1970’s and by 1978 there were approximately12 such services. Most ACCHS’s initially had little or no specific funding, and began as fledgling services with donations and loans of staff from other AMS’s, notably those in Redfern, Melbourne and Alice Springs. However, it was not until the early 1980’s that significant Commonwealth funding was available to ACCH’s on a national scale, and now there are 26 ACCHS members in the Northern Territory of Australia.
The Aboriginal MedicalServices Alliance of the Northern Territory (AMSANT)is the peak body for Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in the NT and advocates for equality in health, focusing on supporting the provision of high quality comprehensive primary health care services for Aboriginal communities.AMSANTaims to improve the health of Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory through promoting and extending the principle of local Aboriginal communitycontrol overprimary health care services to Aboriginal people in the Northern Territory.
Effective cross cultural communication skills are critical to the provision of culturally sensitive health care in ACCHS and AMSs. Communication between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, patients and the clinicians are just as important in the provision of health care as an understanding of the culture and history of the patients. A thorough understanding of a remote area community and clinic and how they are structured including staffing and responsibilities are crucial to a seamless transition for a new Doctor working in the clinic. With these factors in mind a resource was developed which is a series of interactive learning resources. This was a collaborative effort and is what eventually became known as the ‘Working Well Resource’.
