The Workforce and Service Development Manager’s position has been funded from within AHCWA and so is not dependent on, or restricted by, funding from the Commonwealth or WA Governments to provide support to member services and drive the workforce development agenda.

The Unit focuses on five core areas:

1. Workforce Policy and Planning
2. Workforce Capacity Building
3. Service Quality Improvement
4. Culturally Secure Health Services
5. Operational Support for Members.

Some of the other key achievements for the 2007/2008 financial year were:

• Establishment of the AHCWA Registered Training Organisation.
• Funding for national roll-out of the AHCWA Cultural Safety Training Program.
• Initiation of a program for assessing all Aboriginal Health Workers against the new national health worker competencies.
• Completion of accreditation readiness survey involving all ACCHS and Aboriginal AOD services across WA.

Over the next year, AHCWA will consolidate its workforce and service development programs and tackle a number of key issues identified by members as priorities:

• Continuing disparity in GP salaries that exist between doctors employed by WA Country Health Service and those working in ACCHS.
• Developing a WA Workforce Strategy identifying the gaps and strategies to tackle workforce shortages, retention and development issues in the sector.
• Reviewing awards and conditions across all ACCHS to map the workforce and investigate potential for transferability of entitlements across member ACCHS.
• Assessing all Aboriginal Health Workers to identify training and development needs across all ACCHS in the state.
• Assisting services wishing to undertake QIC or AGPAL accreditation.

The team is also taking a leading role over the next 12-18 months in AHCWA becoming accredited under the QIC Healthcare Accreditation standards.

Workforce Policy and Planning

The AHCWA Workforce Information Policy Officer (WIPO) is funded by OATSIH to assist in the implementation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce National Strategic Framework.

In 2007/08, AHCWA progressed its allocated Strategies through the State Implementation Plan, with the WIPO being given the priority to coordinate the roll-out of new national competency standards for Aboriginal Health Workers in WA in cooperation with DoHA Mental Health and Workforce Development Branch, WA State office of OATSIH, WIPOs in other Affiliates, RTOs, WAAHWA and ACCHSs.

Training was also provided for four assessors and coordinating Assessors and ACCHs. The four Assessors and the WIPO will implement a work plan to conduct on the job RCC assessments to develop AHW ‘gap analyses’ against the new national competency standards across the following:
• South West and Geraldton Regional Aboriginal Medical Services, and Derbarl Yerrigan Aboriginal Medical Service (three sites); and
• Bega Garnbirrinju, Carnarvon, Mawarnkarra, Wirraka Maya, Puntukurnu and Ngyangatjarra Aboriginal Medical Services.

The WIPO worked with the National Project Coordinator to assist all ACCHSs to use the template reports from SAMSIS as part of their in-house program improvement and performance monitoring systems. Liaison continued with the National Project Coordinator and member ACCHSs to use de-identified Regional Reports from the Workforce Directory, the Health Services Directory and the Population Profile.

Professional advice and support was provided to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Registered Training Organisation Network (ATSIHRTON), which in turn supports member RTOs in planning and delivering the Certificate III, Certificate IV and Diploma qualifications for Aboriginal Health Workers (AHW’s) national competency standards.

The next 12 months will see all Aboriginal Health Workers across ACCHS in WA assessed, training needs identified, raining clusters formed, all training identified and inputted into SAMSIS and training delivery across to AHCWA sites. Assessors will begin assessing government AHW’s across the State, with progression of AHW Registration and Accreditation and RAISE.

Workforce Capacity Building

AHCWA’s Registered Training Organisation

AHCWA’s first fully accredited national qualification was achieved in April 2008 with the launch of its Diploma of Business Management. In May 2008, AHCWA received its Registered Training Organisation (RTO) accreditation, giving us the legal capacity to provide accredited education and training programs in ACCHO Sector’s workforce.

A Workforce Development Officer was appointed on 16 June 2008, and has developed documents and processes to ensure that the RTO is compliant with the AQTF standards. The officer has also assisted in the assessment of Aboriginal Health Workers throughout the ACCHS in WA to up-skill them in the new national competencies.

As an RTO, ACHWA aims to:

• Support affiliates by providing training to build and maintain workforce capacity.
• Promote and protect the role of the Aboriginal Health Worker.
• Liaise with other training providers to ensure courses are culturally appropriate.

In 2009, AHCWAs Aboriginal Health Training and Development College will start delivering two courses - the Frontline Management and the Primary Health Care modules for the Aboriginal Health Workers who have undergone the assessment process. This is an exciting time in the college’s development, and the next 12 months should see the hard preparatory work of the past six months come to fruition.

Service Quality Improvement

OATSIH’s 2007/08 budget measure ‘A Better Future for Indigenous Australians –Establishing Quality Health Standards’ provides an expectation that all OATSIH funded organsations be accredited under a recognised Accreditation framework (AGPAL, QIC etc) or be in the process of gaining Accreditation by June 2011.

AHCWA commenced its three year Accreditation program this year, and aims to support organisations to achieve Accreditation. The target is to have at least six OATSIH funded organisations signed up under an Accreditation Framework within the next year.

AHCWA’s Accreditation Officer is providing support and promoting clinical (AGPAL) and organisational (QIC) accreditation frameworks to all OATSIH funded health services across WA and raising awareness on the need for accreditation and the value of quality improvement programs.

This officer is also: providing practical support to OATSIH funded services that are preparing to apply for or renew accreditation; developing accreditation interpretation guide for health services on clinical and organisational standards in liaison with relevant accreditation bodies; and developing accreditation plans for individual services.