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Building Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural safety and engagement plan 2023–27
The Office of the Health Ombudsman respects and values Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ cultures and is committed to providing a culturally safe and sensitive complaints management service.
Strategies
PEOPLE
Valuing our people and empowering them for the future to improve organisational cultural safety.
- Develop staff knowledge of issues impacting the health of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and their ability to access culturally appropriate and safe health services.
- Develop staff confidence in communicating appropriately and effectively with Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples by providing cultural competence training, coaching and support.
- Ensure the needs and perspectives of Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples are considered when making decisions directly affecting them.
- Ensure our workforce is reflective of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
CARE
Care: Optimising experiences and outcomes, building confidence in our services as being accessible, responsive and safe for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- Foster a culture of collaboration, relationship building and learning through our engagements with communities across urban, remote, and regional Queensland.
- Ensure our engagement strategies are culturally appropriate and consider the unique requirements of each community.
- Ensure our communication is culturally appropriate and accessible.
- Continually strive to identify and remove barriers to people engaging with our services.
IMPACT
Impact: Driving improvements in health service safety, quality and complaints processes.
- Effect positive change in eliminating institutional racism in healthcare through building strategic partnerships with health service providers, communities and our co-regulatory partners.
- Provide proactive education when conducting stakeholder engagements to ensure cultural safety is not only acknowledged but practiced and outcomes from our work are shared.
- Contribute to consultations, submissions and other activities on health service cultural safety to build influence and reputation.
- Collaborate with health service providers in implementing recommendations from systemic investigations.