Aboriginal health practitioners making a difference in South Australia Flinders Medical Centre, South Australia
As you enter Jaiden and Mahalia’s office you will
includes vital signs, blood-taking, advocating in
notice a pinboard with a number of ‘Thank you’
consent procedures, aiding pharmacy in medication
cards. These cards are testament to the success
education and providing appropriate clinical
of providing meaningful care to one of our most
patient education.
vulnerable patient populations—Aboriginal and
Having a male and a female Aboriginal Health
Torres Strait Islander patients requiring heart
Practitioner is important for gender balance in
surgery.
terms of delivering appropriate culturally sensitive
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients make up 20% of Flinders Medical Centre’s (FMC) cardiac surgery annually. FMC’s heart patient
care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. One of the most profound changes seen in the
population spans the northernmost point of the
hospital since the AHPs joined the team has been
Northern Territory to the southern regions of
the cultural change in the care provided by non-
South Australia.
Indigenous staff as they follow Mahalia and Jaiden’s
Mahalia Milera and Jaiden Graham are two of the first Aboriginal Health Practitioners (AHP) to work
modelling of the best care for Indigenous patients. ‘One nurse told me that at first, he was sceptical
as part of a multidisciplinary team in a hospital,
and felt the roles were just ticking a box’, says
and the first to specialise in cardiothoracic surgery
Bronwyn Krieg, Project Officer, Flinders Medical
and cardiology in South Australia.
Centre. ‘But he then said he can now see the
To better understand the AHP role is to
unique care and understanding the AHPs provide to
understand that their priority is ‘cultural care
meet the needs of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait
first, clinical care second’, where clinical care
Islander patients, and he believes them to be a
14
The Health Advocate • NOVEMBER 2020
