Commitment to patients re-affirmed by Torres & Cape health service chair

Torres & Cape Hospital and Health Service (TCHHS) is “absolutely committed to delivering culturally responsive and inclusive healthcare services to all our communities,” chair Ella Kris says.

In a statement released in response to recent criticisms, Ms Kris said the health service was always happy for feedback.

“Our dedicated health service staff work hard to deliver the highest quality care possible right across our diverse region and we are proud of their achievements in doing this on each and every single day,” she said.

“Our health service is always happy to receive and respond to feedback from patients, their families, and our communities.

“We are open to all types of feedback and are determined to make changes where necessary to improve patient experiences of our services.

“We will willingly participate in any reviews of our clinical processes and procedures and are confident in the quality of the health care we deliver.”

She said the delivery of primary health care services in the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area (NPA) was Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker-led.

“We are also committed to the delivery of culturally safe frontline services,” she said.

“There are 81 Health Worker positions in the Torres Strait and NPA which has increased by six positions over the past

10 years from 75 Health Worker positions in 2013.

“Each primary health care service area has Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker positions to work alongside other roles such as nursing and medical. With everyone’s support, we will continue to work hard towards improving our cultural responsiveness, awareness, and inclusiveness in every way possible, as well as working towards continuously improving health outcomes for all our First Nations and non-First Nations residents.”

She said they had the highest ratio of First Nations employment of any health service in the state.

“As at 31 May 2023, about 21 per cent of our health service’s workforce identified as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent,” she said.

“This is an increase of about 5.1 per cent over the past 5 years and we continue to work on expanding this as much as possible.

“To this end, the TCHHS has a comprehensive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Workforce Strategy in place – both to increase the number of Indigenous people working in our health service and to improve the skills and career opportunities for those already working for us.

“As well as health service staff, this training is also open to non-employee Indigenous people living in our various remote communities to help provide employment pathways for local residents and expand our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce in the future.

“The TCHHS Board and Executive regard this program as an important investment in building the capacity of the First Nations workforce within the health service’s region.”

She said they were mindful of cultural awareness.

“We are also mindful of the need for all our staff to be culturally aware when delivering services to our diverse communities,” she said.

“As such, the TCHHS has a comprehensive Cultural Capability Program in place for all staff and has individual Cultural Capability Coordinators appointed for Cape York and for the Torres Strait and Northern Peninsula Area to help direct this work.

“This program is designed to enable all our employees to develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours that are needed in their various roles to provide better service delivery to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers.

“The health service recently released its Health Equity Strategy Implementation Plan which includes actions for continuous improvement to address the institutional barriers to health equity.

“The Implementation Plan also includes actions such as increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation in all areas,s including a focus on leadership roles and strengthening partnerships with other service providers.”