Rockingham General Hospital welcomes public health system’s first Aboriginal health practitioners

In a first for WA’s public health system, Rockingham General Hospital has welcomed two Aboriginal health practitioners to its team who are helping advocate for patients to get the health care they need. Emily Garlett and Danielle Jones started work at the hospital’s emergency department in November, where they provide some clinical primary medical health care, as well as support patients and staff. Their roles also involve ensuring Aboriginal patients receive culturally appropriate care and serving as an advocates for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal patients. Ms Garlett said this included making sure patients had a clear understanding of their conditions and the treatment they were being provided with. “Some of the patients don’t understand or they don’t know the big medical terms that the doctors or the nurses are saying, so I just try to break it down and explain it in a way that the patient can understand,” she said. “Not just the patients but their families as well. “I’m also making them feel safe and comfortable in the hospital environment. “Sometimes they feel that they’re not being heard or listened to properly. I’m being that advocate for them and going to the nurse or the doctor and explaining how they’re feeling.” Ms Jones said some patients she met had never been to a hospital before and found it “uncomfortable and confusing”, but felt more at ease with her and Ms Garlett’s presence. “I’ve had a few patients say that they would just leave because it’s been busy,” she said. “But they’ve seen me or Emily and end up staying and getting the care they need.” With a background of working in Indigenous primary health care in the Rockingham community for almost six years, Ms Garlett has already built up important connections with some of the patients who come through the ED. “Working in the community, I’ve got to know some of the Aboriginal community in the Rockingham-Kwinana area,” she said. “Being in the ED here, I see some of the familiar faces coming through and a lot of them will recognise me and it makes them feel comfortable when they see a familiar face when they come through the door.” Ms Garlett and Ms Jones are the first Aboriginal health practitioners to join the State’s public health system as part of a $3.6 million investment to fund the establishment of the roles and a roll-out of Aboriginal health practitioners across the public health system. Ms Garlett and Ms Jones both said they were proud of their position as role models for young Aboriginal people in their new roles. “I just hope other hospitals could look at Rockingham and what we’ve done in the last few months — how much this role has helped not just the hospital but the community as well,” Ms Garlett said. “I’m looking forward to seeing what the future holds, not just in Rockingham but everywhere.” A WA Health spokesperson said they were working closely with Aboriginal community-controlled health services and Aboriginal-registered training organisations to boost the number of practitioners. Aboriginal Affairs Minister Tony Buti said the roll-out of Aboriginal health practitioners would contribute to better outcomes for Aboriginal patients. “Aboriginal West Australians experience a significant gap in life expectancy compared to other Australians and the Cook Government continues to look at ways we can help address this gap,” he said. “It is important our emergency departments are places where First Nations people feel comfortable and supported and the new Aboriginal health practitioner role will greatly assist with this.”