St Vincent’s Hospital Gadigal Room

[Anthea] I’m Anthea Groves. I’m a sister of Charity of the Order of Religious Sisters of Charity of Australia.

We have always had our doors open to every person in the community and particularly to the Aboriginal people.

We saw them as a group of people that we would help and offer a lot to.

[Gabrielle] My name is Gabrielle and I’m the program manager for cancer services here at St Vincent’s Hospital. We’re located in the Kinghorn Cancer Centre here at Darlinghurst.

So St Vincent’s really prides itself on the compassionate care that that it provides to all patients, in particular for Aboriginal patients. We’re very much focused on the fact that we know their cancer outcomes are poorer than for other population groups.

And so what we try to do is, is target them particularly for extra supports. So in conjunction with the Aboriginal health worker we’ll make sure that the cancer care coordinator and other allied health staff support the patient, knowing that they have extra needs to really make that a safer journey for them.

[Anthea] The other thing that I think is important that in these latter years we’ve put great emphasis on setting up an Aboriginal department almost in the hospital with a group of people that will help us deliver this more significant answer to their ministry and we will, we’re delighted, and I’m particularly delighted to, to work with Pauline and Peter and all those people that go round and look after our staff and make sure they get, they can get us to provide them with the appropriate care.

So, yes, it’s a great, great time in our history to think that we’ve now been able to set up a completely funded Aboriginal department in the hospital.

[Gabrielle] Training for our staff at St Vincent’s is really important for to support Aboriginal patients through their journey with cancer. And we know that in some situations, we know that we can’t cure or control the disease. And so it’s important that we think about best palliative care support.

But what we’re very aware of is that many Aboriginal patients are not comfortable about the notions of talking about death and being supported. And and there are unique things that people of Aboriginal backgrounds would want as they go towards death with their disease. And we need to be very sensitive to how we work with that.

[Pauline] Okay, a little bit about myself, um, Pauline DeWitt and my role at St Vincent’s is the Aboriginal Health manager.

But prior to that, when I first started in the job, I was the Aboriginal Health Network Coordinator.

In September of 2014, we established the Aboriginal Health Unit and, and that unit, it’s a newly created unit and I’ve actually employed two Aboriginal health workers as well as myself as the Aboriginal health manager, and both Nathan and Peter are my Aboriginal health workers.

[Peter] My name is Peter Honeymoon. I’m a proud Barkindji man.

I’ve been working as an Aboriginal health worker for the past two years.

[Nathan] My name is Nathan Simpson. I’m a proud Wiradjuri man.

I’m currently working at St Vincent’s Hospital as an Aboriginal health worker. We’re currently standing in the Sacred Hearts Gardens.

It’s a nice, beautiful place for patients to spend time, sit back and relax with some family members.

Also, I think it’s a good decision to come here as early as you can, as soon as you know that you are having problems. Being at home, you could be home for 8 hours a day by yourself, as your family members might be working, have errands to do. They might have something they have on. With palliative care it’s 24 hour care, 24/7.

So if you have a situation through the middle of the night or through the middle of the day, there are nurses there straight away and doctors will assist you and treat you with what you need to be treated with.

The cancer patient I’m currently working with at this stage, he’s currently on chemotherapy treatment and he is a very positive and understanding of the cancer that he has.

And he travels from country, comes to our hospital, stays for a number of weeks through his treatment and goes home to family and has his time with his family and relaxes with his children.

And he comes back again and he’s positive frame of mind the second time he comes back. So it’s about him understanding and he’s very positive that he wants to treatment and he’s keeping his mind very strong and that’s going to help him prepare for his further treatment.

[Raymond] Yeah, My name is Raymond Woods. I’m from Hay, a Wiradjuri, man.

I’ve been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia.

I’ve been treated at the St Vincent’s Hospital with 2 lots of 2 rounds of chemo so far. And I’m on a waiting list for a bone marrow transplant.

Like I said, you’re obviously a bit afraid at the start because you’re not sure where you fit in that in that category of leukaemia too.

But I said, as I said, the support staff and that, when I got here were absolutely amazing.

We’re from, you know, the Aboriginal health workers that come in and and speak to you because you just make you feel more comfortable being Koori fellows coming and having a yarn, and stuff like that, to the social workers too, that are working out of the hospital that help with your family and getting them accommodation and, and just making you feel, you know, comfortable in the hospital because that’s a part of being when you’re when you’re sort of rushed here, you’re worried about everything else and they try to take that worry away from you. So you don’t you’re not, you know, so you’re only concentrating on your own health and getting yourself better.

So their support has been absolutely amazing. And not only that, the doctors, the nursing staff, they’re all they’re all absolutely brilliant.

Yeah, it’s very important for me to get back out on country after my treatments and stuff too, because I’m a traditional spiritual sort of a person too. And I love to have that feeling of being on country and to get out there in between treatments is good for me.

And and they allow you that time. So it’s it’s good for for the soul.

[Pauline] So back in 1998, it was always a part of the plan that we establish a safe place for Aboriginal families and their carers to come in.

And sometimes our patients will walk down here and sit in this room as well. It was a room that we provided a sink and, you know, tea and coffee and it was a place where we could allow the families to come in and sit in a quiet place.

So the Gadigal place is a safe place that, you know, people can come and, you know, you put them in a room like this and it’s all about the patient. And they will come together in this room and it’s quite sacred for Aboriginal people.

And because, you know, it is a that time for our families and you know, and if they are using this room, it’s a time when they can heal sometimes in this room. And make the right decisions for their people and their communities.

With a large amount of Aboriginal people coming in, Aunty Melville was quite instrumental, making sure that this room was available and she worked really hard with the director of Mission and the social work managers and many people within the hospital and it was always part of the plan to establish a safe room for Aboriginal people to come in.

And I must admit that, you know, when I came in it was here and, and it was always honoured that Aunty Melville had started this room.

And you know, the Gadigal is the, the traditional people of the Eora nation here in where St Vincent’s is built upon.

And I think it’s very significant to have a name like that, you know, because many of our people that are coming into our hospital come from other traditional areas.

So it’s really an acknowledgement of the local traditional people of the Gadigal people here in this area.

And and it is important that, you know, that the Gadigal people are welcoming them to this room and also that the Gadigal people want to make sure that they’re safe whilst they’re here in our care.

[Raymond] As we’ve said before, it’s it’s not a death sentence. It doesn’t have to be.

You know, it’s it’s a matter of you listening to your doctors.

And and once you’ve found out there’s so many different treatments now, the, the technology and stuff that they’re coming up with all the time and and it’s and having the chemos and things like that.

Put you into remission and we don’t know what’s what sort of new technology they’re going to come up with. You know, like every every day there’s something different.

But I can’t stress enough is to get diagnosed. Go and see your doctors. You know, I know our mob get a bit slack at times about health checks and things like that.

But you know, you’ve got to go get in and see your doctor.