Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service (DYHS) has developed a holistic paediatric service unit anchored in primary health care and underpinned by care coordination provided by an experienced nurse and multi-disciplinary team.
Through the development of this model, it is anticipated that more Aboriginal children will have timely and equitable access to specialist paediatric care in a culturally safe and trusted environment, providing additional support to families before and after visits, and parallel access to GPs and comprehensive primary care services offered at DYHS.
The model includes:
- Regular paediatric clinics embedded within DYHS at its East Perth clinic, which is well-known and familiar to the children and families attending
- No judgement, no wrong door policy, including referral into and out of the paediatric clinics from other DYHS clinicians such as midwives, child health nurses and general practitioners
- Nurse care coordination for families connecting before the child’s first paediatric appointment to understand what the concerns are and pull together previous reports and referrals, attending the paediatric appointment with families, follow-up coordination with referrals, schools and other appointments and also providing time efficiencies for the families and health professionals involved
- Parallel GP visits immediately following a paediatric visit to prepare follow-up referrals and address any additional health needs. Also GPs can assist with health checks, and co-prescribing of ADHD medication.
Since implementing the model attendance at the clinics has been greater than 90 per cent and paediatricians report they can get more achieved during the clinic because families are prepared for what will happen in the consult, reports and referrals are available giving them more time to concentrate on assisting the child and the family.
Through the course of delivering the service, DYHS is assisting the Journey Together Initiative to understand the strengths and needs of Aboriginal families in Perth with children with complex health needs, what services are available to support those families and where the gaps are.