Fortunately, the impact of flu season appears to be less severe than last year but it is still important for us all to ensure we are vaccinated to protect the vulnerable members of our community.
I am very pleased that the majority of our 12,000 Sydney Local Health District staff have taken the lead and been vaccinated. Well done, everyone.
If you are a community member and you are yet to get your flu shot, please see your GP or your community pharmacist.
Feedback from last year’s Waterloo Health Forum highlighted the importance of us engaging more with the community, being more visible, helping people navigate health services, supporting affordable and accessible on-site healthcare, and supporting employment and social enterprise.
The follow-up forum held recently aimed to report back on the progress made and to “dig deeper” to develop information for an action plan to improve health and wellbeing for Redfern/Waterloo residents.
We already provide extensive community services in the area through Sydney District Nursing and our Healthy Homes and Neighbourhoods program, for example, but we are now also working on developing a business case for a health facility in Waterloo and I look forward to reporting more on this in the future.
Did you know that the Redfern Legal Centre operates out of RPA hospital two days a week? This is the first hospital-based health/justice partnership in NSW and has proven popular among patients and staff.
The service provides an early intervention program to identify and intervene in any potential legal issues for vulnerable patients because we know these can cause, or compound, health problems. It also provides training for our staff in identifying legal needs and referral pathways for patients.
In the first six months of the service, solicitors saw 62 clients at RPA, most with domestic violence, child protection, tenancy and debt issues. The centre also provided training for more than 220 Sydney Local Health District staff.
For more information on the service, please talk to staff when you are in RPA or contact the Redfern Legal Centre on 9698 7277.
