AMA welcomes National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan should be a catalyst for a new era of unprecedented coordination between all Australian governments to deliver better health services and better health outcomes to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Dr Hambleton said that the AMA welcomes the long-awaited Plan, which was developed in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as the first step in a coordinated approach to dramatically improve Indigenous health over the next decade.
“The next step is the development of a National Implementation Plan to set out detailed and comprehensive commitments from all stakeholders,” Dr Hambleton said.
“The Implementation Plan must specify:
the development of a comprehensive set of measurable targets to be achieved over the next 10 years;
the development and implementation of a service model that will effectively and efficiently achieve those targets;
the development and implementation of a national workforce strategy for existing and emerging areas of need in service provision;
the formulation of a funding and resource model commensurate with health care needs and priorities in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations over the next 10 years; and
clear, measurable requirements for governments to work together in genuine partnership and with the guidance of Indigenous health leaders and Indigenous communities.
“A National Implementation Plan is not truly national unless it has all the States and Territories on board in a spirit of cooperation with the Commonwealth.
“All governments must now move quickly to establish a new COAG Close the Gap Partnership Agreement in Indigenous Health to act as the umbrella under which the Implementation Plan can proceed,” Dr Hambleton said.
23 July 2013
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