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The North Coast Committee is pleased to welcome you all to the 2006 Annual General Meeting. This completes yet another year of non-government Indigenous health service provision to the residents of the Sunshine Coast & Gympie regions. NCACCH has had a positive year with OATSIH increasing our re-current base funding to include last year's shortfall largely due to an increase in GP visits and the Federal Government expanding their Indigenous health policy to include the NCACCH developed Brokerage Model. As a result of our achievements, The Federal health Minister, The Hon Tony Abbott has allocated $12.75 million for five (5) additional Brokerage sites in NSW, Vic , WA & Qld.
Brokerage Model Presentations
We have just returned from the above states where we delivered presentations on the Model at the request of the Office for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health (OATSIH), our funding body. One of the main requirements for this new national initiative will be the presence of an existing sound partnership arrangement or the proposed development of one between the local Indigenous populations and the mainstream health care providers eg; an aboriginal organisation and the local division of general practice. Most members would realise that the success of our model for people visiting a doctor has always relied on the excellent working partnership we developed and continue to have with the Sunshine Coast Division of General Practice. We thank the division for their continued role in supporting and maintaining this great partnership.
New Office Location
Some of you will know that we have moved to a new office located in;
Suite 15/27 Evans St Maroochydore. The move was funded by OATSIH after it was determined that the old location was not appropriate to work from anymore. They have also increased our baseline re-current funding to include the additional cost needed to lease the new premises. We now have more space for additional staffing and program resources if and when needed.
Additional Staffing
Since the last AGM we have been successful in securing funding for 2 additional full-time staff positions, the NCACCH Project Officer and Data Management/Finance positions. NCACCH has also submitted a request for additional funding to employ an "Office Manager". Due to the increase in national recognition the workload has also increased with many demands put on the board for more of John's time assisting other organisations that wish to start up a Brokerage of their own. We have also taken on more funded programs as you will see further in this report. The Board is hopeful that a positive response from OATSIH will arrive in late October.
New Database
Minister Abbott also made a visit to us in March this year to personally present us with funding to develop a new health database for keeping the important records of our business. One of the exciting features of this is that the database will be built so that it is able to be distributed nationwide to other locations where brokerage services will be made available in the future.
Healthy For Life
NCACCH has been selected as one of 57 sites across the country to be involved in what we feel is one of the best programs for Indigenous health ever to be implemented. This program specifically addresses chronic disease and child and maternal health. Identified people in these groups will have specific access to their selected health care providers involved in a joint care plan to address their health issue on a one to one basis over a period of time and at no financial cost to them. There are 2 phases of this program and we are currently in phase 1 which is doing the groundwork and preparing the service to a best practice standard. It is in phase 2 when the actual service delivery takes place. If we are successful in obtaining the phase 2 funding the programs should commence by the middle of next year.
2006 Health Survey
Some of you will have participated in the recent health needs survey conducted by NCACCH. We have enclosed the results of this survey in your meeting papers. You will see that access to specialists and pathology is a concern to a lot of people and NCACCH will be addressing this outcome in the request for additional funding. Visits to Gps, Dentists & Counsellors remains high on the list as expected and NCACCH will continue to fund these programs.
World Person's Health Check Day
A report of this day is included in your papers. Hopefully we will be hosting many more of these very successful days and are currently planning one in March in Gympie and another in the Sunshine Coast in April. These days are opportunities for you and your family to begin the process of accessing the full adult and child health checks available free through Medicare by your chosen doctor. We would also like to thank all the participating service providers who attended on the day and those who served with us on the organising committee. These details are in your report.
Sexual Health "Through the Eyes of an Indigenous Teenager" Poster Competition
In your papers you will also find a report on this rather unique competition hosted by NCACCH. This was slow to take up and took quite some time to get to the awards ceremony. People were not sure exactly how to put a thought process/perception of this issue in a graphic manner. Due to only a small number of entries (22) we have decided to host another before the end of the year and hopefully get a lot more entries. The 12 best entries taken from both competitions combined will be printed on the NCACCH 07/08 calendar.
Continuous Quality Improvement Initiative
NCACCH has qualified for additional one-off funding every 3 years to put in place initiatives that improve what the organisation does. Our initial request will be to successfully gain accreditation as a best practice organisation with a recognised auditing body.
NCACCH Membership
We now have 163 members and 18 associate members from most areas around the coast. This is a very good geographical representation and will be important for those people who have not heard of us nor used the health services available to them as yet. The more members we have of course will give us more credibility and hopefully assist in more favourable responses with funding bodies.
Training Opportunities
NCACCH staff and board members have attended a number of training courses and conferences over the last year ie;
• National Indigenous Women's Conference (leadership focus),
• Core of Life 2005 (a life education program which helps young people to understand the reality of becoming pregnant, giving birth, feeding and parenting a new born baby),
• the 8 th Annual Health Professionals Symposium, Breaking Down the Barriers to Diabetes Self-Management
• National Breast Cancer Centre Forum, Aboriginal Health Worker Training W/shop
• Financial training with QAIHC & MYOB
• Diploma in Project Management
• File-Trac, Correspondence database
• Computer program office applications
• Diplomas in Board Governance
Toyota Hi-Ace
NCACCH has once again been able to assist another aboriginal organisation in addressing their transport issues. Some of you will know that we loaned the Hi-Ace 12 seat bus to Nungeena Aboriginal Women's Corporation last year for a period of 12 months to help them with transport relating to some of their programs. This year we have loaned the same vehicle for another 12 months to the Mooloola Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Corporation (MATSIC) in Gympie. They have just been funded to provide the child safety program in Gympie and the bus should be of assistance to them.
Governance Workshop
In February this year NCACCH hosted a joint workshop focussing on governance with another aboriginal organisation from out of our region after a specific request and funding from our funding body. After our successful finalist status in the Indigenous Governance Awards last year OATSIH thought that we would be able to share some of our skills and knowledge with others to help them improve what they do. This was a successful workshop and we are looking forward to others.
Wanna Be Deadly Youth Group
NCACCH has been approached by the group's organising committee to auspice funding for them. We have agreed to do so because the board feels that there are many opportunities for young indigenous people to benefit by the involvement in this group. Their focus is on health through sport and recreational activities.
Representations
NCACCH retains membership in and is regularly represented on the following forums and organisations;
National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation - our national peak body
Queensland Aboriginal & Islander Health Council - our state peak body
Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Corporation Health Education & Training
Sunshine Coast & Wide Bay Regional Health Forum
Sunshine Coast District Health Forum - a Qld Health initiative
Office for Indigenous Policy Co-ordination - Shared Responsibility Agreement
Sunshine Coast Indigenous Network Group - local interagency
Sunshine Coast Substance Misuse Forum - OATSIH initiative
Men's & Women's Groups
NCACCH was hosting get together breakfasts for the men and lunches for the ladies until earlier this year. We put them on hold for a while as they weren't supported as much as we would have liked. More will be held again this year and we will contact all members when we decide on dates for the next meetings.
HAC Card Printer
We have recently purchased a printing machine which is able to print our own Health Access Cards. This should mean that when a renewal is due or a new card needs to be originated it will only take a couple of days after it is approved. Hopefully down the track we will be going to Smart cards where they will just be swiped at the doctor's reception desk.
The NCACCH Committee
Finally, the Committee has met formally for board meetings on 10 occasions as well as attending numerous workshops on governance, capacity building and the development of the 2006/07 NCACCH Action Plan. This has ensured the good running and management of North Coast and shows the high level of commitment from the people you elected. I would like to thank my fellow board members Auntie Lorraine Harvey, Auntie Olive Bennet, Auntie Merle Tilbrook, Jill Hogarth, Helen Felstead and Gordon Browning for the support and dedication they have shown during the last term or two. We all feel that this organisation has come a very long way since the late 90's and are very proud to be associated with it. This could not have been achieved without the hard work, dedication and perseverance shown by this and previous committees. I wish the nominees for the election following all the best.
I would also like to thank the staff , Lyndelle (who is leaving soon and we wish her well), Jackie, Lorraine Sharelle, Tina and John for the work they have done in the administration of the day to day workings and helping to make NCACCH so successful.
Thank you
Tom Cleary, Chairperson on behalf of
the NCACCH Committee. |
