Sunraysia Community Health Service implementation of the OCP for Aboriginal people with cancer

Purpose

To implement the Optimal Care Pathway (OCP) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with cancer.

What we did

LMICS partnered with the local Aboriginal community and services including Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), the SCHS Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Officer, and mainstream health services.

Outputs

• Successful recruitment of project workers
• Implementation of culturally appropriate signage, flags and plaques in key locations
• Facilitation of community yarning circles
• Mapping of services and local resources

Delivery of culture training sessions and increased cultural awareness, engaging clinicians, Aboriginal Health Liaison Officers (AHLOs) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Impacts

Identified future enhancements include:

• identifying gaps, barriers, challenges and success levers for Sunraysia Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community
• capturing lived experience of local community members to demonstrate these.

The project identified that advocacy for further funding is critical to implement project recommendations not within scope.

For more information, email LMICS@bendigohealth.org.au