Bayside Health - Alfred Hospital

5. Linking with our Indigenous CommunityThe expansion of the role of the Aboriginal Liaison Officer at CaulfieldCommunity Health Service (CCHS) to include The Alfred has opened up a wholenew area of work for Sharon Bolger. During her 10 months at Bayside Healthshe has established a close working relationship with the local Aboriginalcommunities through a number of outreach programs offered by CCHS and theInner South Community Health Service. This is obviously a critical step on ourjourney 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 relationshipswas the recognition and promotion of NAIDOC week across the three hospitalsites. Staff were made aware of NAIDOC week via promotional posters, emailsto all staff and the display of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags inprominent locations.Sharon BolgerWhilst 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 andto facilitate support for Aboriginal patients who attend Bayside Health• Identifying the training needs of Bayside Health staff and focussing initialeducation sessions on the needs of the staff in the Emergency Departmentat The Alfred• Reviewing and establishing procedures to ensure that individuals from theATSI communities are correctly identified to ensure their individual needsare addressed whilst in hospital, and that appropriate services are involvedduring discharge planning.Bayside Health is in the process of establishing an Aboriginal Working Partyto include staff from the three hospital sites.Work with our GPsThe focus of current efforts being made by Bayside Health’s GP Liaison teamis to improve patient care through better communication between GPs and thehospitals.Referral management guidelines have been developed so that GPs havea clearer idea of the information they need to include, thus assisting withappropriate triaging of referrals.Dr Josie Samers and Judith BushellA part of Bayside Health’s website was developed “For GPs” by the GP Liaisonteam. 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 AlfredEmergency & Trauma Centre.16 Bayside Health