Doctors talk health

The transformation of indigenous health for patients in Broome and the Kimberley, using a holistic approach, is a vision one local doctor brought to the table at this year’s Australian Indigenous Doctor’s Association Symposium.

Doctor Kim Isaacs attended the annual symposium in Broome this year, along with a record number of guests, with more than 200 people from across the country who were registered to attend.

The symposium united Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors, including general practitioners, physicians, specialists, researchers, academics, teachers and students – to celebrate their achievements towards improving indigenous health outcomes.

Dr Isaacs said the symposium was an opportunity to network with colleagues and friends, and provide a soundboard for addressing key issues surrounding indigenous health.

“We still have Third World healthcare in Australia – we’ve lost touch with what’s happening in our own backyard,” she said.

Dr Isaacs outlined her vision for a long-term, innovative approach to indigenous health that uses a complementary balance of traditional and Western medicine.

“We need to improve indigenous health through physical, spiritual and mental components,” she said.

Dr Isaacs said one solution could be to establish a multiservice clinic in Broome for people to access.

“We need one campus, a GP practice and healing centre with a gym and physiotherapy, and a dental service.”

She said she was inspired by holistic methods used overseas in remote communities which had been successful, including in Arizona and Hawaii.

Dr Isaacs said more health services needed to be made available for towns and communities in the region, and more locals attracted to working in the health profession.

“We need to be setting targets for the future,” she said.

“The existing population needs to be trained – we still heavily rely on Perth for specialists and other services.”

Dr Isaacs said people needed to question where they saw health being in 20 years time and examine the state of current indigenous health to understand problems in the future.

Key concerns for indigenous people in the Kimberley included renal and heart disease, and diabetes, she said.

Dr Isaacs believed Western medicine was changing. “We’ve had the concept of indigenous health all the time, but it’s not yet had a chance in Western medicine,” she said.

“Traditional and Western medicine would be complementary, and we can learn a lot from our elders.”

“Aboriginal doctors have more of an impact than someone learning about our culture – the trust factor is easy to establish. “It’s a privilege,” she said.

Ms Isaacs said the symposium was an opportunity to network with colleagues.

“They know the problems in their own communities and make a difference at a ground level,” she said.