Asylum Seeker health services — Health Waiver Programs Health Waiver Program provided much-needed relief for people seeking asylum during COVID-19 pandemic in the north and west of Melbourne and Shepparton.
The Health Waiver Program, first established in 2016, has continued from the Cabrini Asylum Seeker and Refugee Health Hub providing essential medications and medical aids such as glasses to clients attending the service. As many clients have not been able to attend onsite, the general practitioner and nursing teams have worked exceptionally hard to ensure people have been able to access ongoing medication, in particular for their chronic disease, by posting scripts and waivers, sending them through to the pharmacy or having medications posted to their home. The Brunswick Pharmacy who partners with us in the program have been incredibly accommodating to the change in service delivery. A total of 890 client episodes received 1221 waivers for 1941 individual scripts at a cost of over $59,000. The Hume Whittlesea Pharmacy Waiver Program commenced in 2018 in partnership with Whittlesea Community Connections, a community-based organisation that fosters relationships with the local community and offers services that address disadvantages in the Whittlesea local government area, and Chemist Depot Pharmacy in Epping. The waiver program has continued to provide access to essential medications and medical aids and equipment for people seeking asylum who have no income and no access to a Healthcare card making the cost prohibitive for essential medical care.
The impacts of COVID-19 mean having to pivot from a face-to-face service once a week to an online and telehealth service, increasing the administration and logistics burden for both the clients and staff involved as well impacting the pharmacy staff dispensing the medication. Despite the challenges in the last financial year, the Hume Whittlesea Pharmacy Waiver Program was able to successfully support 115 clients with pharmacy waivers at a cost of $47,446. The Health Waiver Program in Shepparton is new and commenced when Clinic Sihat and Project Sihat commenced. Both services have been able to provide support to people who have previously struggled financially with access to their essential medications for example for their diabetes for example. In the first month of the program, we supported four clients with their medications, and we expect the service to grow with increased referrals to our ‘Sihat’ programs. These programs have been well supported by the generosity of Cabrini Outreach’s donors.
21
