Cairns played host to a large delegation of Cape York stakeholders in November for a health summit that coincided with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Apunipima Cape York Health Council.
The purpose of the Cape York Health, Stronger Together Summit was to bring health officials, health service providers and community representatives together from all over Cape York to discuss and workshop ways to continue improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the region.
Apunipima was created during a similar health summit held in Injinoo, 30 years ago this year. The 1994 summit was called to discuss ways to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Cape York and resulted in the establishment of Apunipima Cape York Health Council.
“In terms of Closing The Gap, not much has really changed over the past 30 years,” said Apunipima Chief Executive Officer Debra Malthouse.
“Life expectancy is still somewhat lower than mainstream Australia, and nowhere near where we would expect to be in 2024, so what’s our plan as service providers and policy makers to change that in the next 5 to 10 years, to ensure we’re moving in the right direction? That’s what this summit is all about.”
Representatives from all 11 Cape communities that Apunipima services as well as the Northern Peninsula Area communities were joined for the two-day event by executives and staff from Torres & Cape Hospital & Health Service (TCHHS), Cairns & Hinterland Hospital & Health Service (CHHHS), Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO), Queensland Aboriginal & Islander health Council (QAIHC), and several local and regional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-based organisations.
“The goal was to make sure that we got as many of those executives, stakeholders and policy makers together in the room with Cape York people because a lot of them don’t get a chance to hear from Cape York people directly, so this was an opportunity to do exactly that,” Ms Malthouse said.
Throughout the summit, the 130 attendees heard from keynote speakers on a range of topics, listened to panel discussions and discussed and workshopped problems and ideas relevant to the individual communities and the broader Cape region.
Apunipima Chairperson and Hope Vale resident Trevor Gibson said that there was a great vibe at the event and community members deeply engaged with the summit.
“From a community perspective it was very helpful because not only do we get to hear from the industry experts, but we also get to speak as well. We know there’s a lot of different opinions in our communities about health and being able to explain our issues and get answers is important to all of us. For us, that’s our vision of how community control works,” he said.
The keynote event of the summit was a panel discussion titled, Stronger Together: A Road Map for the Future. Ms Malthouse was joined on stage by TCHHS Chief Executive Rex O’Rourke, CHHHS Chief Executive Leena Singh and Regional Lead at RFDS QLD Shaun Francis, with the discussion centred on four priority areas for Cape York; access and equity, partnerships and collaboration, community participation and codesign. The panel members each presented what the organisation’s priorities were against the focus areas and were then asked questions by the Summit Facilitator.
Following the discussion, a Statement of Commitment was signed by the four panel members that outlined and reaffirmed each organisation’s commitment to Closing The Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health care through working together and addressing the four priority areas.
Mr Gibson said he was thrilled about the Statement of Commitment and he hoped it was the beginning of meaningful change.
“The signing was the icing on the cake for the Summit. Before, all we had was talk, now we have a real commitment which hopefully will lead to real outcomes.”
Rex O’Rourke from TCHHS believed the signing of the Statement of Commitment would strengthen and build on the good work that was already being done.
“We now have a tangible commitment that formally recognises that we will deliver better services if they are united, coordinated and patient centred,” he said.
Mr O’Rourke said that the Summit was a great opportunity for his organisation to engage with community members directly.
“The primary goal of the health summit for us was to listen to community, to hear what their issues and their priorities are, and see how we can work together with our partners to deliver better health services so from our point of view we achieved that goal,” he said.
With the signing of the statement completed, the next step is in January when the signatories will meet for the first time to begin work on the road map.
Ms Malthouse agreed that the signing was a huge step but also warned against complacency.
“Accountability is the key to moving forward now that we have a statement of commitment from the four key health providers,” she said.
“Our ability to work together to develop a plan of action against those commitments, in collaboration with community groups and members, is what will lead to an improvement in the health of Cape York people.
“Not only do we have to hold each other accountable but the community needs to hold us accountable to those commitments. I’m looking forward to working proactively with the other Chief Executives as we move together to close the gap in health across Cape York.”
