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Concerns about racism in Western Sydney’s public hospitals AMUST Media Racism in Australia’s Healthcare System On 28 June 2022, in a Guardian article titled Deadly combination’: unpicking race’s role in three separate tragedies, reporters Joe Hinchliffe and Jane Lee unpack the role played by race and cultural bias in the deaths of three children under hospital supervision. In these cases several doctors have noted that all three occurred to families from the Indian subcontinent and spoke more broadly of a “deadly combination” of factors, including ethnicity and culture, that is being magnified in a healthcare system buckling under the immense pressure of the pandemic. In the same article Race Discrimination Commissioner, Chin Tan, says systemic racism within the health sector is undermining access to services, diagnoses, treatment and care. Individual healthcare workers “may be well intentioned”, Mr Tan says, but “unconscious bias or a lack of cultural understanding and sensitivity” means people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are not always provided with appropriate care. Venkata Chandra Lanka is one the parents quoted in the article. Venkata Chandra Lanka says “there is a different kind of racism in the picture here, where no one says anything to you but your concerns are ignored.”
Racism in Western Sydney public hospitals Between 2018 and 2022, within Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD), similar concerns about being ignored, not being listened to and slow staff responses to rapid clinical deterioration have been repeatedly expressed following the death of 27 year of Sydney Dr. Malay Rana at Westmead Hospital in April 2015 , the death of 3 year old Sydney girl Caitlin Cruz at Westmead Hospital in October 2016 and the death of 21 year old Sydney woman Dua following a discharge from Blacktown Hospital in February this year . Disturbingly, all of these deaths occurred in patients from a multicultural background. Further, in the past decade, there have been several reports highlighting similar systemic concerns with poor communication, poor patient experiences, slow responses to rapidly deteriorating patients, poor standards of care and multiple avoidable deaths in hospitals within WSLHD. In November 2012, an article in Canberra Times featured DAMNING internal reports into 85 deaths at WSLHD Hospitals over two years that had revealed that at least 49 of the patients did not receive adequate care. The reports identified poor communication, slow responses to rapidly deteriorating patients and poor standards of care as significant contributors to avoid deaths of these patients. In May 2021, Bureau of Health Informa-
tion figures released in a Sydney Morning Herald article showed that hospital emergency departments in Sydney’s west and south-west scored the lowest in NSW on a patient satisfaction survey, with Blacktown, Westmead and Liverpool hospitals among the under performers. Community concerns about care in Western Sydney hospitals Western Sydney is home to a large multicultural community. This disturbing pattern of being ignored, not being listened to, poor patient experiences, poor care and multiple avoidable deaths only reflect Race Discrimination Commissioner, Chin Tan concerns about systemic racism within the health sector undermining access to timely services, diagnoses, treatment. On 12 October 2022, Dr Rateb Jneid, President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC), wrote to WSLHD Community and Consumer Partnerships. (WSLHD - CCP) to highlight increasing community concerns about the quality and safety of healthcare in the district.
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In his letter, Dr Jneid noted that AFIC has been privy to some troubling stories from consumers and carers about being inappropriately discharged home with life threatening conditions, carers not being heard, their concerns being disregarded and being verbally and physically abused by staff at WSLHD. AFIC awaits a response from WSLHD - CCP. Western Sydney residents continue to be concerned about systemic racism within hospitals in Western Sydney undermining their timely access to timely services, diagnoses, treatment. In light of the impending elections, AMUST will continue to feature a series of articles with interviews with political, community leaders and stakeholders within Western Sydney healthcare sector. These articles will seek to highlight the challenges faced by residents of Western Sydney in accessing high quality healthcare. They will also explore potential solution to address them.
Canterbury-Bankstown Council support bid to stop anti-Palestinianism AMUST Media A packed council chambers erupted with applause on Tuesday 29 September before Canterbury-Bankstown Councillors received a standing ovation for unanimously supporting the Sydney Statement on Anti-Palestinianism. The statement, supported by more than 65 community groups, was crafted by the Arab Australian Federation “in response to the incessant violations by Israel of the Palestinian people’s human, political, economic and national rights under international law, including their right to self-determination and nationhood.” The move followed a motion by Councillor Christopher Cahill calling for the council’s support for the statement. He pointed out that the Israeli occupation of Palestine has lasted more than 50 years and is a concern to residents of Canterbury-Bankstown, of diverse faiths and backgrounds. “The statement quotes nonviolent means and international law to achieve a just and lasting peace between the parties,” Clr Cahill said. Clr Khodr Saleh commended the council on its endorsement of the statement while addressing a packed gallery, “I’m very happy to be speaking in support of this motion today and congratulate the Canterbury-Bankstown City Council for adopting this Statement. This statement also aims to support the legality of the defence of Palestine and the lives of Palestinians. It does this by proNOVEMBER 2022 / ISSUE 204
Councillors of Canterbury-Bankstown Council supporting the bid to stop anti-Palestinianism.
tecting the people’s legitimate rights to expose the Zionist occupation and confront the oppressors without being without being silenced by fabricated accusations of anti-Semitism. “Canterbury-Bankstown Community is the home of more than 129 nationalities where people in the local communities value freedom, peace and social justice. I believe the freedom of the Palestinian people is at the heart of the aspirations of our community,” Clr Saleh said. He further added, “The commitment to
support the rights of the Palestinian people, including self-determination and the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state is at the heart of the aspirations of our community.” President of the Arab Australian Federation (AAF) Mr Eddie Zanariri commended the Council on its endorsement of the Statement. “I call for the end of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. It’s called theft of the land. Can you imagine that you can be in your house one day and the next day you get
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told: ‘You’re leaving. remove yourself from the house, because tomorrow the bulldozers will come in and it will be gone. Where will you go? Who knows?” Clr Saleh said. He concluded by saying, “Finally , I would like to commend all the efforts of those committed to this cause including the Hon Bob Carr, the Hon Shaoquett Moselmane, and the community organisations from all faith and the media which has made the Statement on anti-Palestinianism possible.
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