Working in a community with a high population of refugees, the compassionate staff at Fairfield Chase Medical Centre are proud to work alongside the NSW Refugee Health Service to create a safe and seamless transition to the Australian primary healthcare system through their Refugee Health Clinic.
With a long tradition of welcoming refugees and migrants over many decades from many countries across the world, Fairfield is a unique and vibrant community. There are currently more than 19,000 Arabic speakers living in Fairfield, with more than 9,000 settling in the area as refugees.
Highlighting the clinic’s achievements in this space, we asked Selin Tekirdag, the practice nurse manager; Muthana Al-Iedani, an Arabic speaking practice nurse; Dr Allan Gregor, GP and practice principal; and other passionate practice staff about their experience working with this community.
This is what they said:
Why did the team begin working with NSW Refugee Health to assist the refugee community to access better healthcare?
Creating a space for the refugee community to feel safe and cared for is a passion of practice principal, Dr Allan Gregor.
Being from a similar background, he recognised a service gap and the difficulty refugees faced accessing healthcare once they’d arrived in Australia.
Expressing this passion with the team, and gaining the support of his entire practice staff, the team reached out to NSW Refugee Health to find out more about the entire process a refugee goes through upon arrival in Australia and how the two organisations could work together to ensure a seamless transition into the community.
Actively working with NSW Refugee Health means the team has access to resources and information making the transition to the Australian healthcare system, and the community, as seamless as possible for refugees.
What does this care involve?
Wanting to ensure there is a simple pathway with minimal barriers for this population to be able to look after their health, an important part of care is the environment. The newly refurbished Refugee Health Clinic in Fairfield Chase Medical
Centre is calm and inviting, a stark contrast to the clinical setting of a regular consultation room.
An initial consult will involve meeting with a GP as a family, where routine screenings will take place and they are introduced to their nominated refugee health nurse, who will assist them throughout their healthcare journey.
The refugee nurse will carry out patient care from this point within the Refugee Health Clinic room and spend about an hour-and –a-half with each patient (sometimes there is up to five patients in one family) ensuring the patients are relaxed and do not feel intimidated by the whole process.
This first consultation will involve an overall health assessment, including a mental health check, vision and hearing checks, and will record smoking and alcohol history. The nurse will also provide general counselling, catch-up vaccinations, women’s health education, preventative health education and arranging referrals to any allied health services which may be needed to support the patient.
Fairfield Chase Medical Centre is also home to a number of allied health services, so patients do not need to go far, alleviating the risk of patients slipping through the cracks or not continuing their care. Education materials are also available for patients in language to support an ongoing positive health experience and to ensure patients feel comfortable returning to the clinic as well.
The clinic at Fairfield has also built relationships with STARTSS, a service for refugees, asylum seekers and people from refugee-like situations who have survived torture or other traumatic experiences associated with organised violence; and SSI, a service working with people who have experienced vulnerability, including refugees, people seeking asylum and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, to build capacity and enable them to overcome inequality.
Why is this clinic important?
The refugee clinic delivers accessible urgent care to some of the most vulnerable members of our society. Often patients are unable to take advantage of, or are unaware of, all avenues of care available to them. It is wonderful the practice staff at Fairfield Chase Medical Centre are able to provide the opportunity to access care in a supportive setting.
Refugee patients often require a slightly different approach to healthcare, it is important to ensure background and experience is considered while introducing them to the Australian healthcare system. The refugee clinic establishes a clinical home for patients to come back to in the future.
What has the clinic allowed Fairfield Chase Medical Centre to achieve in the community?
The clinic provides clinical care for those who may have otherwise not searched for it. The current refugee health nurse Muthana has built strong and meaningful relationships with his patients through his own shared refugee experience. His dedication to the role has allows patients to feel comfortable and continue to attend the clinic, which has also helped to increase healthcare knowledge within the community through word of mouth.
What is the biggest challenge of the role and how do you overcome it?
The greatest challenge is generally the lack of understanding of the importance of preventive health and the important role of a healthcare plan. Many patients aren’t aware of how the Australian healthcare system functions, others have faced great difficulty in their home country making it hard to talk about.
Working with these patients to build a strong rapport and providing them with exceptional care throughout the entire process, practice staff ensure each family and individual patient is given the time they require to understand and feel comfortable with the process, their nurses, and the whole Fairfield Chase Medical Centre team.
What is most rewarding about the role facilitating care for such a diverse population?
The team is able to build therapeutic relationships between the patient, their families, and the overall refugee community. It is incredibly rewarding to see patients on their return visits and notice such a difference in their overall confidence in navigating the healthcare system, and of course seeing their healthcare being managed effectively.
How do you educate your patients about the importance of maintaining good health?
Ensuring staff speak in a way in which the patient can relate and easily understand is most important. Muthana is a fluent Arabic-speaker who can tailor the education efficiently and accurately to allow patients to also trust he is providing the care best suited to them as an individual.
By setting up the refugee clinic, the team is able to take all the time necessary for each patient to ensure they get the best outcomes. This includes educating each patient about their health and why it’s important to take up preventative health measures.
A massive thank you to Fairfield Chase Medical Centre for allowing this opportunity to discuss the Refugee Health Clinic.