Bayside Health - Alfred Hospital

5. Linking with our Indigenous Community
The expansion of the role of the Aboriginal Liaison Officer at Caulfield
Community Health Service (CCHS) to include The Alfred has opened up a whole
new area of work for Sharon Bolger. During her 10 months at Bayside Health
she has established a close working relationship with the local Aboriginal
communities through a number of outreach programs offered by CCHS and the
Inner South Community Health Service. This is obviously a critical step on our
journey to better meeting the needs of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
(ATSI) communities.
A small but significant part of the process of establishing effective relationships
was the recognition and promotion of NAIDOC week across the three hospital
sites. Staff were made aware of NAIDOC week via promotional posters, emails
to all staff and the display of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in
prominent locations.
Sharon Bolger
Whilst there is a lot of work still to do, Sharon has been focussing on:
• Establishing links with Aboriginal services to inform them of her role and
to facilitate support for Aboriginal patients who attend Bayside Health
• Identifying the training needs of Bayside Health staff and focussing initial
education sessions on the needs of the staff in the Emergency Department
at The Alfred
• Reviewing and establishing procedures to ensure that individuals from the
ATSI communities are correctly identified to ensure their individual needs
are addressed whilst in hospital, and that appropriate services are involved
during discharge planning.
Bayside Health is in the process of establishing an Aboriginal Working Party
to include staff from the three hospital sites.
Work with our GPs
The focus of current efforts being made by Bayside Health’s GP Liaison team
is to improve patient care through better communication between GPs and the
hospitals.
Referral management guidelines have been developed so that GPs have
a clearer idea of the information they need to include, thus assisting with
appropriate triaging of referrals.
Dr Josie Samers and Judith Bushell
A part of Bayside Health’s website was developed “For GPs” by the GP Liaison
team. This gives GPs quick access to information, forms, and contact numbers.
The GP Liaison team also assisted in establishing a 1-800 number for The Alfred
Emergency & Trauma Centre.
16 Bayside Health