Shared vision aims to develop sustainable primary healthcare workforce

Oct 28, 2016 | Posted in: Media

A Statement of Commitment was signed this afternoon that formalises a working partnership designed to build a highly skilled, sustainable and culturally responsive primary healthcare workforce for the Aboriginal and Islander community controlled health sector in Queensland.

Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council (QAIHC) Chairperson Elizabeth Adams signed the agreement with Health Workforce Queensland Chairman Emeritus Professor Robert Stable before 80 QAIHC Member representatives and invited guests at the QAIHC Annual Member Conference at the Brisbane Convention Centre.

Mrs Adams said the agreement was a significant milestone for QAIHC as it represented a shared vision to develop and retain a primary healthcare workforce that is committed to delivering excellence to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Queensland.

“Together, we recognise the need for a primary healthcare workforce that understands and values the fundamental and unique role of the Aboriginal and Islander community controlled health sector in Australia’s healthcare system,” Mrs Adams said.

“It is about ensuring primary healthcare services are planned, designed and delivered in accordance with clinical excellence and cultural practice so that healthcare services can effectively respond to the current and future needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.”

Professor Stable said HWQ and QAIHC shared a vision for an optimal health workforce for Queensland’s Aboriginal and Islander community controlled health sector, particularly in remote and rural locations.

HWQ Chief Executive Officer Chris Mitchell said a formal working partnership facilitated a collaborative approach to deliver health workforce solutions for the betterment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.

“Together we will be able to address the health workforce needs of the Aboriginal and Islander community controlled health sector; focusing on attraction, recruitment, retention and cultural competency. This too, is a landmark occasion for Health Workforce Queensland,” Mr Mitchell said.

FACT FILE

Under The Statement of Commitment QAIHC and Health Workforce Queensland commit to:

• Creating sustainable workforce solutions: Developing and delivering targeted state, regional and local recruitment solutions to reduce the current healthcare workforce shortages, minimise the reliance on locums and streamline recruitment strategies for Aboriginal and Islander community controlled health services;
• Improving workforce retention: Partnering with Aboriginal and Islander community controlled health services to implement innovative models regarding services, workforce and employment practices to increase the retention rates of their primary healthcare workforce;
• Marketing the philosophy and values of the sector: Developing tailored marketing and promotional campaigns for primary healthcare practitioners, including General Practitioners, allied health staff and nurses, to promote the ethos that is fundamental to the Aboriginal and Islander community controlled health sector, and ensure that the sector becomes an ‘employer of choice’ for health practitioners committed to health equity and social justice;
• Embedding cultural competency across all aspects of professional practice: Incorporating cultural competency into the training and professional development opportunities provided to health practitioners; and
• Investing in the future primary healthcare workforce: Implementing strategies along the health workforce pipeline to increase the exposure of pre-service students and newly graduated health practitioners to the professional and personal benefits in building a career focused on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary healthcare.

View QAIHC's Statement of Commitment