COORDINARE is committed to improving access to culturally sensitive and respectful primary care for the more than 24,000 people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander within South Eastern NSW.

In June 2021, COORDINARE funded five mainstream general practices. Utilising a strong consumer focus, the aim of the initiative is to support the practices form partnerships with Aboriginal people who are regular users of their service to co-design improvements to their service delivery.

Using an experience based co-design approach, this two-year program seeks to:

• Support practices to be culturally sensitive and responsive by developing meaningful partnerships with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients.
• Facilitate better access to primary care for all Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.
• Progress reconciliation through advocacy and influence in the primary care sector.
• Support practices to provide enhanced services with a strong consumer focus.

During the first steps of this program, each practice engaged Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people who regularly use their service to be participants in the co-design process.

Cultural competency training was provided for each practice by Koorimunication, and involved the GPs, nurses and administrative staff who would play a key role in this project.

Experience based co-design training was then provided for practices, their consumer representatives and COORDINARE staff by the Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA). Which was then followed by a mentoring workshop for each practice.

These workshops helped to develop a deeper understanding of the co-design process and provided an open and safe environment for participants to share and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by consumers and the practice.

Interested in finding out more about this project? You can read our full article in the latest edition of the AHHA Health Advocate (page 34 - 36) below:

Aboriginal health, Commissioning, Community, COORDINARE news, Illawarra Shoalhaven, Learning and workforce development, Quality in general practice, Southern NSW