The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) celebrated the launch of a new model of care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families today. The Honorable Daniel Andrews MP Minister for Health was a guest at the event.
Other special guests included Aboriginal community elders Aunty Joy Murphy, who gave the welcome to country, Aunty Joan Vickery and Uncle Kevin Coombs.
The new service is called Wadja, the Aboriginal word meaning ‘child’, and comprises the Wadja Health Clinic and the Wadja Aboriginal Family Place. The on-line education component of the program was also unveiled at the event.
The service provides emotional, social and culturally sensitive support to Aboriginal children and their families attending the hospital. The Wadja Aboriginal Family Place is a comfortable and welcoming space for families to relax and feel at home while their child is cared for in the hospital.
The new model is unique to paediatric care in Victoria and aims to improve the health outcomes for Aboriginal children by connecting culture and cultural identity to health care, enabling participation and decision making, and investing in an Aboriginal health workforce.
The service, which is staffed by Aboriginal health workers and case managers, will have an advocacy role and provide advice about Aboriginal cultural issues to the broader hospital community.
There are approximately 1600 occasions of care for Aboriginal children at the RCH each year. Having a sick child, whether in hospital or as an outpatient, can be a stressful experience for families and even more so when there is uncertainty around cultural issues.
Fifteen year old Ebony Knowles has experienced the care provided by the Wadja team and the RCH. Ebony was injured in a motor vehicle accident last year and still attends the hospital’s rehabilitation service. Ebony met the Minister and told him of her experiences at the hospital.
The Wadja staff, and the hospital’s General Medicine and Social Work Departments, have worked closely with the hospital to establish this model. The new model is funded through donations to the hospital’s Foundation.
Right: The Honourable Daniel Andrews MP Minister for Health meets Ebony Knowles