Refugees in health boost

GREATER Dandenong refugees and asylum seekers, some of whom cannot access a Medicare card, will now have free access to specialist health care under two new programs.
Last Friday, Victorian Health Minister Bronwyn Pike announced that the Greater Dandenong Community Health Service in Thomas Street would receive $100,000 to fund a fulltime refugee specialist nurse.
This announcement follows the recent news that the Dandenong District Division of General Practice (DDDGP) has received funding to set up a refugee and asylum seeker health clinic in Dandenong for Medicare ineligible patients.
As reported in the Star 16 June, Anne Peek chief executive of DDDGP had expressed concern that many local refugees and asylum seekers were being forced to travel to the western suburbs to receive free medical treatment or worse, were going without basic health treatment.
Ms Peek said as Medicare also covered pathology, radiology and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme many people were not being covered for these services because of their asylum seeker status.
The Star also reported that the DDDGP had sent a letter to Ms Pike supporting the Refugee and Asylum Seeker Health Network’s proposal for a refugee health centre in Dandenong.
This week, Ms Peek welcomed the Health Minister’s funding announcement and said the specialist nurse would greatly help their newly funded clinic.
“Certainly the nurse will be a great asset to the asylum seeker clinic and the timing is just great,” she said.
Ms Peek said the new service would be offered on a regular parttime basis, operating from the Greater Dandenong Community Health Service in Thomas Street, Dandenong, and would be conducted by rostered GPs on a sessional basis.
She said links would also be established with allied services such as radiology, pharmacy and interpretive services.
The clinic is set to open in September and operate every second Wednesday morning but increase to weekly as demand increases.
Ms Peek said they had received $160,000 from both the State Government and various Catholic churches to help operate three new clinics in Victoria including Dandenong and they were now seeking interest from doctors who wanted to offer their services.
Following Friday’s announcement Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Daniel Andrews, said the specialist refugee nurse would have skills in a broad range of areas, including knowledge of illnesses prevalent in refugee populations and an understanding of the social issues affecting refugees.
“Studies show refugees suffer a higher incidence of physical and mental health problems than other migrants and people born in Australia,” Mr Andrews said.
“Refugees are also less likely than other migrants to have family and community support to assist them in accessing healthcare.”
Ms Pike said many refugees found it difficult to access health professionals with experience to manage their needs.
“Healthcare for refugees can be improved by special expertise and knowledge,” Ms Pike said.