megavideolinks
Joined: 19 Nov 2011
Posts: 273
|
 Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2011 6:19 am Post subject: Health Care for Indigenous People |
 |
|
The Commonwealth Government has a leadership role in developing national health policies and
improving the delivery of, and access to, health services for all Australians, including Indigenous
people, within a federal system of government.
In respect of Indigenous peoples, the Commonwealth Government directly funds over 200 Indigenous
specific primary health care and substance use services, the majority of which are controlled by
Indigenous communities. In remote areas, such services are usually the only service available to
Indigenous people. In 2007-08 the total budget for health care specifically for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander people is $447,000 million which is approximately 1 per cent of the total
Commonwealth Health Budget.
Indigenous specific services funded by the Commonwealth government complement the mainstream
health programs (Medicare Benefits Scheme and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme) and those
health services provided by state and territory governments. As indicated in section 1.2 above, state
and territory governments are responsible for hospital services. They also provide funds, and
contribute, to Indigenous specific services. There has been a strong push since the early 1990s to make
mainstream health systems more responsive to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people, particularly given that at least 30 per cent of this population live in urban areas.
6
Effective primary health care underpins almost all the strategies that can be delivered through the
health system, for example, antenatal care, immunisation, early detection and screening and chronic
disease management, and many of the strategies targeted at healthy behaviours. Increased capacity is
required across primary health care and secondary/tertiary care. Strengthening the system of primary
health care and improving data on measures of community functioning, relative economic
disadvantage, governance and health promotion, continue to be Commonwealth Government
priorities
_____________
charm bracelets
tag heuer replica |
|
