To assist our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce IAHA has collaborated on a project led by NATSIHWA with AIDA, IAHA and CATSINaM to develop a resource toolkit that includes posters on important contacts, tips and information to help you care for yourself, as well as for distribution in your communities.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Professionals Resource Toolkit is available now and can be downloaded HERE. To avoid a second wave of COVID-19 we all have to continue to be cautious and vigilant. As Health Professionals it is important that you keep yourself informed and understand what you need to do in case of an outbreak.
We are facing uncertain times. As we work collectively to control the spread of COVID-19, we know that our people are at a higher risk. Please look after yourselves and each other.
As the frontline Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce it is important you know how to protect and care for yourself, your families and our communities. We all need to do things differently. People’s lives are at risk. Everybody needs to know the signs or symptoms and how to keep each other safe. In particular, care must be taken around the elderly and those with chronic health conditions – they are most at risk.
We have never been in a situation like this before and it is changing all the time. Over the coming weeks your regular roles may change dramatically and you may be faced with additional demands. You will need to take particular care of your own physical, cultural, spiritual, mental, social and emotional wellbeing.
We have put this pack together to assist and support you in this changing environment. It includes tips and information to help you care for yourself, as well as resources for distribution in your communities. To make sure you are getting the most up to date and correct information we will continue to publishing links, resources and information on our websites, social media pages and newsletters.
The official Australian Government website is a good source of information. They have also developed an online COVID-19 infection control training module and we would encourage you all to do the training. Another good source of collated information from primary sources is the Indigenous HealthInfoNet COIVD19 portal.
To protect against infection and prevent the virus spreading everyone must practice good hygiene, physical distancing and self-isolation when required. As a general rule the hygiene procedures that you apply in the clinic or your workplace should also be applied at home.
We acknowledge and thank you for the work that you do. Please stay safe.
The teams at: IAHA, NATSIHWA, CATSINaM, and AIDA.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Strategy Group consists of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector leaders and representatives from accreditation entities, National Boards, AHPRA and the Chair of AHPRA’s Agency Management Committee.