Indigenous Health Perspectives: Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service

This article discusses the Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service and their efforts to improve the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians. It covers their history, vision, mission, services, members, and challenges. The article highlights the positive impact of their culturally competent care on the community.

Running head: INDIGENOUS HEALTH PERSPECTIVES
INDIGENOUS HEALTH PERSPECTIVES
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Executive Summary
Indigenous health is related to the physical, cultural, emotional and the social
wellbeing of the members belonging to the Aboriginal community and the Torres Strait
islander people. Most of these indigenous Australians are seen to experience poorer health
conditions in comparison to the non-indigenous. In order to provide better access of
healthcare services to this population, the government of Australia has taken initiatives in
order to design programs and health services that are significant in improving the health and
life expectancy in addition to reducing the rate of mortality. The Bawrunga Aboriginal
Medical Service (BAMS) successfully works towards the physical, cultural, emotional and
the social wellbeing of the members of the Aboriginal community and the Torres Strait
islander people. The indigenous people had an overall positive opinion regarding the
indigenous health care services.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
History........................................................................................................................................3
Vision and mission.....................................................................................................................4
Services and operations..............................................................................................................4
Members.....................................................................................................................................6
Contact and location...................................................................................................................6
Issues and challenges.................................................................................................................8
Impressions................................................................................................................................8
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References................................................................................................................................10

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Introduction
Indigenous health is related to the physical, cultural, emotional and the social
wellbeing of the members of the Aboriginal community and the Torres Strait islander people.
Most of these indigenous Australians are seen to experience poorer health conditions in
comparison to the non-indigenous Australians therefore they tend to die at much younger
ages (Parker & Milroy, 2014). There is a tendency that these indigenous Australians suffer
from more chronic diseases. Often these conditions are unknown in the non-indigenous
population however the occurrences of the chronic diseases keep on increasing in case of the
indigenous population. In order to provide better access of healthcare services to this
population, the government of Australia has taken initiatives in order to design programs and
health services that are significant in improving the health and life expectancy in addition to
reducing the rate of mortality (Lawrence, Hancock& Kisely, 2013). This paper aims to
highlight such an organisation namely the Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service (BAMS),
which is involved in providing healthcare services to the indigenous people.
History
The Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service (BAMS), was developed as a non-profit
community organization, that was managed by the indigenous. This organization was
developed in the year 1999 in Bowraville, NSW (Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service –
Aboriginal Medical Service, 2018). This organization was developed in order to address the
needs of the indigenous in terms of provision of accessible health care and medical servives
that is both affordable and high in quality. These medical clinics are involved in offering
services to the local communities. This organization is one of the only autonomous

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indigenous managed healthcare services that works on a full time basis and is involved in
bulk billing of medical centres.
Vision and mission
The aim of the Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Services (BAMS) is offer the local
communities with medical services as it is one of the only Aboriginal Medical Service in
Australia that works on a full time basis and is involved in bulk billing of medical centres.
The mission of the organization is to strengthen the connections existing between the
Indigenous and non-Indigenous people residing in the community and to endeavour to
establish new alliances in order to identify and address the existing challenges that are present
within the communities that are culturally diverse hence closing the gap in the aspect of
Indigenous Health.
The organization’s vision is to commit to the closing of the gap of life-expectancy of
the Indigenous and other Australians since they are still dying at an elevated rate, almost 10
to 17 years younger than other non-indigenous Australians (Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical
Service – Aboriginal Medical Service, 2018).
Services and operations
The five clinics of the Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Services (BAMS) that generally
operates on a “community-cooperative” model along with Board of Directorsof the
Aboriginals along with a CEO who is involved in managing the daily operations. It also
involves staffs who are paid along with other volunteers who assist in the Medical Service of
the reception side of the area (Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service | ISX, 2018). The
programs and services of the Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Services (BAMS) involves:

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o Primary Health Preventative Services
o Aboriginal Child Health Checks
o Chronic Care Plans
o Women’s Health
o Diabetic program and health promotion
o Men’s Health
o Pharmaceutical Assistance Program
o Domestic violence
o Skin Care Services
o Immunisation
The organization is involved in provided healthcare services to about 15,000 patients.
It has a medical service that is fully integrated consisting of six full-time physicians along
with two part-time physicians in addition to 28 staff and volunteer. Bawrunga strives to
continue the retention for future doctors to work with the organisation. The organization had
received funding from the government in order to establish the medical service which was a
major achievement for the aboriginal organization.
The Aboriginal Medical Services (BAMS) six medical clinics is involved in
operation. BAMS strives in providing the permanent opportunities of employment to the
individuals of the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populationworking within Bawrunga’s
service areas, which they doby efficient financial practices (Department of Health |
Indigenous Health, 2018).

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Members
The organization currently employs 120 Indigenous members who are involved in the
delivery of primary health care programs. In addition, they provide educational programs
addressing the needs of the Aboriginal community since 2000. This includes innovative
programs and involved independence of State or Federal Government funding (Aboriginal
Health, 2018). The members were also taken among the Gumbaynggirr people who are the
local residents. The members are contacted from the respective traditional lands and placed in
a number of Missions located around the North Coast and beyond. Members were also taken
from the local Nambucca community and they are employed to work as labourers. The
members required to contact the Missions. In addition, they were not given the permission to
reside at their traditional lands. The employees involve the 28 administrative / clinical staff
and 8 General Practitioners.
Contact and location
The Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service operates through the clinics located in the
Mid North Coast of New South Wales and three clinics in the NSW Western Plains Region
(Aboriginal Health - Inspire Magazine – IBA, 2018). The locations of the medical centres
along with the contact are:

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Issues and challenges
Bawrunga is currently involved in working at regarding the challenge of buying a
business property. The upheld vision is to build up focus that is completely free network
based, adjusting the Bowraville and Nambucca Valley District. For accomplishing this, there
is a requirement of purchasing personal property and building of the organization. When the
building is bought it would provide the neighbourhood individuals the capacity to spread out
and give extra administrations from a secured and long-lasting base along with addressing the
issues of strength. In addition to this, reduction of the enormous expenses of leasing and
finding appropriate premises, gaining of acknowledgment for the nearby customary
individuals who have been associated with giving neighbourhood answers for neighbourhood
issues with no administration financing to date (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare,
2018). Provision of acknowledgment and strengthening through land possession has already
not been conceivable to the majority of the nearby Aboriginal individuals because of the
absorption strategies of the past.
Impressions
These indigenous people had an overall positive opinion regarding the indigenous
health care services. Through my interaction with these people who have been involved in
using these services and the primary care that was provided by the Bawrunga Aboriginal
Medical Service (BAMS) I understood that these services are involved in providing care to a
culturally competent manner. The service users revealed that they were highly benefitted
from these services especially in terms of diversional activities.
Conclusion
In conclusion it can be stated that the Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service (BAMS)
successfully works towards the physical, cultural, emotional and the social wellbeing of the

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members of the Aboriginal community and the Torres Strait islander people. These services
are involved in providing care to a culturally competent manner. The service users revealed
that they were highly benefitted from these services especially in terms of diversional
activities.

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References
Aboriginal Health - Inspire Magazine - IBA. (2018). Retrieved from
http://www.iba.gov.au/article/the-healing-place/
Aboriginal Health. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.naccho.org.au/about/aboriginal-
health/
Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service – Aboriginal Medical Service. (2018). Retrieved from
https://bawrunga.org.au/
Bawrunga Aboriginal Medical Service | ISX. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.isx.org.au/projects/bawrunga-aboriginal-medical-service
Department of Health | Indigenous Health. (2018). Retrieved from
http://www.health.gov.au/indigenous
Home - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au
Indigenous health. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/indigenous-health
Jongen, C., McCalman, J., Bainbridge, R., &Tsey, K. (2014). Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander maternal and child health and wellbeing: a systematic search of programs and
services in Australian primary health care settings. BMC pregnancy and
childbirth, 14(1), 251.
Lawrence, D., Hancock, K. J., & Kisely, S. (2013). The gap in life expectancy from
preventable physical illness in psychiatric patients in Western Australia: retrospective
analysis of population based registers. Bmj, 346, f2539.
Parker, R., & Milroy, H. (2014). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health: an
overview. Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and

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wellbeing principles and practice. 2nd ed. Canberra: Department of The Prime
Minister and Cabinet, 25-38.