The Hunter New England Local Health District held its fourth annual forum in Tamworth to mark National Close the Gap Day, held yearly since 2006 to raise awareness of the health and life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders die on average 10 to 17 years younger than other Australians.  The causes are complex: economic, employment, and housing statuses; access to health services; health literacy; and, historically, difficulty accessing services.

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HNE Health staff and partner organisations discussed how to improve Indigenous people’s health and well-being.  They cater to nearly 60,000 Indigenous people, who make up 5 per cent of the district’s total population.

"It's an important day for us to recognise the importance of closing the gap for Aboriginal people,” said rural and regional health services director Susan Heyman.  “Today is just one opportunity.  It's something we should work on every day, and we are."

The national Closing the Gap strategy aims to reduce disadvantage, and achieve health equality by 2030.

To close the gap, and improve the social, economic, and lifestyle status of Aboriginal people, Ms Heyman explained, increasing access to health services, increasing education and understanding of health literacy, and working with their partners, both in and out of health areas, were necessary.

"Achieving health equality is a priority, and it's absolutely a goal we should all work towards,” Ms Heyman said.  “It's not going to come easily.  We’ve been able to make inroads, but we've still got a long way to go.”

Ms Heyman said that while the District had improved some aspects of Aboriginal health, there was still much work to do.

Over the last year, the health service had increased antenatal care in the first trimester, and more 50- to 69-year-old women were screened for breast cancer.

On the other hand, the number of Aboriginal mothers who are breastfeeding when they leave hospital had plateaued.  The gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal mothers who smoke during pregnancy, and the number of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal babies born with a low birthweight, also widened.

HNE Health, Ms Heyman said, was committed to providing appropriate and effective healthcare for Indigenous people in the region, and provided both general and specifically targeted services.

To help pregnant women stop smoking, for instance, it introduced the Quit for New Life programme, which taught them how smoking could harm their unborn baby, and suggested ways they could quit.

The District also employs Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff members, so that its services are provided to Indigenous people by familiar faces, and are culturally appropriate.

4.65 per cent of staff identify as Indigenous, well above the state target of 2 per cent, but HNE Health still wants to employ more Aboriginal people.

The health service also runs the Aboriginal Health Workers’ Clinical Practice Project, which trains Aboriginal Health Workers to become Health Practitioners.

"It enables them to undertake more clinical assessment,” Ms Heyman said.  "This is particularly useful in the rural and remote communities, because it provides better access.  These workers are out and about in the community, and able to assess, refer, and treat Aboriginal people."

As well as providing services themselves, the District also worked with non-government agencies such as the Armajun Aboriginal Health Service. 

"We recognise that in order to close the gap,” Ms Heyman said, “we need to work in partnership with the government and non-government agencies, and the community."

Ms Heyman promised that HNE Health would continue to work to improve health outcomes for Indigenous people.

“We will continue our efforts to close the unacceptable gaps, and ensure equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”