Participants in Healthy North Coast’s Cultural Safety Training sessions have been gaining a rich understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.
In the lead-up to NAIDOC Week, the first of a series of face-to-face half-day interactive workshops and immersive on-Country Cultural Safety Training sessions were held on Yaegl and Birpai countries.
The training series is attracting strong interest, with the July and August sessions fully booked and places now open for September training in Grafton, Murwillumbah, Bellingen and South West Rocks. Find out more here.
The training blends online learning modules with on-Country experience, allowing for a deeper understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities.
Healthy North Coast’s Senior Manager for First Nations and Population Health, Hilton Naden, said the workshop series focuses on historical facts and the past treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
He said often there was a lack of understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, which led to discriminatory views.
‘Difficulties exist in getting Aboriginal issues addressed in the first instance and often as an afterthought,’ Mr Naden said.
‘These workshops address these issues and many more in the hope of reconciliation. They aren’t about blame or guilt, they are about how better to address Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s cultural and social determinants and how to get support in these areas.’
He said many people failed to understand the structure of Aboriginal communities and thought ‘we should treat them all the same’.
‘That’s not the case, we are different in many ways, so attend our workshops and see what I mean,’ Mr Naden said. ‘You will have a wonderful cultural experience and make many new contacts out there. We are here to support you and your team.’
The Cultural Safety Training series is designed to increase local cultural awareness and enable health professionals to develop practical skills so they can deliver culturally safe health care to their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients on the North Coast.
The training was developed in response to the 2021 NCPHN Community Survey, in which 32 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents said they stopped or delayed getting health care because they were unable to access culturally safe services.
It aims to ensure primary health practices are culturally safe, which is essential to increasing First Nations peoples’ access to health services and in turn, closing the gap.
The Cultural Safety Training is delivered in partnership with the organisations Ochre and Salt, and Corporate Culcha. The training combines both self-paced online and face-to-face learning, which is RACGP- and ACRRM-accredited for 6.5 CPD hours.
Anyone with questions about Cultural Safety Training or who would like more information should email [email protected].