Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Katie Woolf spoke with Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT CEO John Paterson

Transcript

Katie Woolf spoke with Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance NT CEO John Paterson · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: But joining us on the line, I think to talk
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: about this from a much more grassroots perspective. It is
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: the am SANCE CEO John Pattison. Good morning to you, John,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: Good morning Katie.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: Happy Wednesday to you and the listeners.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Thank you. Now John, for those out there listening who
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: maybe don't understand exactly who am SENT represents, firstly, can
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: you explain that to them?
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: Sure? The Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory is the
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: peak body with the peak body that obviously advocates and
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: does other heavy lifting work with governments etc. Around workforce,
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: all those big chronic illnesses, more funding, more service delivery,
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: ensuring when we have big serious pandemics like we're currently
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: experiencing with the COVID pandemic, that we ensure that the
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: most dot population here of an order territory a given
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: priority to be vaccinated. And hence that's currently and rightly
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: so occupying my mind and my attention, you know, day in,
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: day out for the last coming up two years now.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: So look, I heard that, I heard the discussion let's
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: go to the data stuff. So I mentioned recently that
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: I turn don't have the appropriate and rather data at
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: my fingertips kdie and it's about I guess, I guess
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: the systems that and those that are collecting the data
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: from a commult and I think part of the problem
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: is we've got commalts collecting some of that data, and
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: we have territory government via the Health Department, collecting their
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: respective data in terms of vaccinations. You know, how family
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: we're going, how well we're pray pressing of the nordn territory.
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: So look, I've raised this as a matter of emergency
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: that you know, I need to know on a daily basis.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: I should be able to push a button and find
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: out how many people are indigenousins are vaccinated throughout the
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: Northern Territory. If I want to drive down to a
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: specific community such as Maningrida, which has proven, you know,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: was a great and successful vaccination roll out there recently
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: apartment up with territory health clinicians and the good expert
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: clinicians there at Manala and led by local community elder there,
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: I think was a very effective strategy to ensure that
• 2:45
  Speaker 2: we were able to achieve the number of vaccinations. I
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: think we've almost reached about eighteen hundred for the three days.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: I think well over there for the first vaccination, I
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: understand it was that they must be due for their second.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: So I should be able to, like I said, daily,
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: on a daily basis, be able to push the button
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: and find out how we're trending, you know, yeahly, and
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: if I wanted to drill down to a community, I
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: should be able to get the information for that for
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: that very community as well.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: I think it's so incredibly important that that information is
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: readily available to the likes of you. John Patterson and
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: am said, given the fact that this vaccination rollout is
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: so very important, and it's so very important first and
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: foremost to make sure that Territorians are safe and that
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: they are fully vaccinated. When you talk about that rollout
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: in our remote communities, from your perspective, how is it going?
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Look, Katie, there was Look, and I've said it previously.
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: There is an acknowledge there's some hesitancy there, and that's
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: being obviously led by any vaxes on social media and
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: other sectors of the communit that are I guess put
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: in mixed messages and non information that that's really not
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: helpful or doesn't is not evidence based by health experts,
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: you know, So my message then those ones there any
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: access is to stop stop peddling that misinformation. I mean,
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: allow our most vulnerable population in the ordern territory to
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: make their own decisions after they hear from the experts
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: who have dealt with this pandemic from day one, and
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: that that's our expert health clinicians and advisors in the sector.
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: So I call them those peddling misinformation to cease right now.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: It's not doing our community and our population any good.
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: And we've got this this delta astrain particularly is a
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: very very serious and badly. When I say deadly, Katie,
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: this leads to death if it's not treated and and
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: you get that the urgent response that's required and we've
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: seen that in western New South Wales currently. Yeah, how
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: badly this virus is spreading. It's contagious, it's spreading. It's
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: much easier to spread amongst the most vulnerable population, and
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: we've got to ensure we do everything in our powers
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: to ensure that the vaccines are rolled out to most
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: remote communities and vulnerable population in the Northern urty, but
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: more so nationwide.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: John, Is that all it is? Is it just? I mean,
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: is it a situation here where you know where that
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: vaccine hesitancy due to misinformation is the thing that's holding
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: us up in some communities or are there other worries
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: as well that are contributing.
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: Sure, that's one one factor, Kadie. There's been supply of vaccines,
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: particular Fizer. We now have a good system between the
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: Tertory government, mc Comalt government and the Aboriginal Community Control
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: health sector, a good system there where there's regular supplier
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: fires are now being being provided to communities. We have
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: a big major educated with workforce. With all the lockdowns,
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: that's just preventing us from getting the appropriate clinical support
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: from those states, you know, particularly News South Weld and
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: Victoria where a lot of a fair bit of our
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: workforce do come from. So whilst they're in lockdown, we're
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: just unable to get access that workforce. We've sought the
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: support and assistance for maybe some overseas you know clinicians,
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: I understand that that might be available, but you know
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: that'll be up to a commult and other state and
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: Tertory governments to work that out and see if we
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: can get any of that workforce capacity from internationally and
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: from those countries that are on top of their one
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: the pandemics. But that's a big challenge for us at
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: the moment. There's constant meetings of a meeting with the
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: Chief Executive or Territory Health in the coming days to
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: talk exactly about that, how we can join forces between
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: the a Viginal community control health sector and Territory Health
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: other workforce providers to ensure that we have the perfect
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: workforce that can get out to these remote communities and
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: co vaccine.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: Rollo, John, I know that. You know, even in the
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: NT News today they've got some of the statistics in
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: there for different regions. You know, Palmerston and Darwin obviously
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: sixty two percent at least one dose. Central Australia sixty
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: two percent at one dose. Are the Berkley regions sixty
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: one percent? But then I guess you go to some
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: of our more remote areas and like you and I
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: have just been discussing, it is a concern with some
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: of those vaccinations rates. I mean, how worried are you
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: about some of those vaccination rates when you look at
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: what's happening in the likes of regional New South Wales
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: at the moment.
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: Look, I'm still very concerned, Katie, I must be honest,
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: I won't be satisfied until we have ninety nine point
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: nine percent of that I'm vaccinated. That's the reality, and
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: that that includes eligible that's just not the adult you
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: know population with Now you know vaccines now recommended for
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: twelve year old upwards, so we've got to include the
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: younger or that age court in that percentage as well.
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: So yeah, I won't be satisfied until we get to
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: ninety nine nine percent of their month vaccinated. There's obviously
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: other health reasons why some may not be able to,
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: may maybe hesitant against it. But those that are eligible,
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: we strongly encourage Katie that they don't wait for you
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: for this Belta strain. Just look at western New South Wales.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: What's happening there. This is a very very serious virus
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: and we've got to put in place in sure that
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: most vulnerable population have had at least one vaccine, you know,
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: and fully vaccinated vaccine. Yeah.
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: Well, and John, you know, I like we've been talking
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: about it is so very important.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: I know that.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: Also in addition to that, the Chief Minister has said
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: that the reality of this is here in the Northern
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: Territory until those vaccination rates are up to around eighty
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: percent right across the board. We are still going to
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: be enduring lockdowns, We are still going to be in
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: the situation that we're in, well that all of Australia
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: is in right now. So it's it is so very important,
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: but mostly it's so very important for everybody's.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: Health absolutely, Kate. Look, you know, we want to keep
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: the territory safe and we've done that very effectively. This
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: is a big scare up one we had from just recently.
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: You know they're down and CASU with the US consultant
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: coming in, so you know, we just don't know where
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: the threat will come from, and we've got to put
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: all the safeguards up and ensure that the territory population
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: is well protected. And one way getting protected is having
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: that making sure that we're all vaccinated. Just on that
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: data and statistics stuff. I mean, we've just got to
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: also define I understand what the medicare. You know, when
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: they go and get the vaccino, they're actually the medicare numbers.
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: So we've just got to you know, sort out whether
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: those medicare individual people have medicare condsidents have, whether they're
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: interstate or whether they're locally territorian. So that's where I
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: think some of those statistics might be getting a little
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: bit muddled up. So yeah, we're just going to be
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: able to define you know, yep. I agree with you there,
• 11:05
  Speaker 2: territoins to whether they're in the statives tourists that are
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: still in the territory and then we welcome that, yep.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: But we just need to get the accuracy of territoins
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: being back to and I think that's where some of
• 11:17
  Speaker 2: this confusion might lay.
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you spot on, John Patterson, the CEO of and
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: Sam we always appreciate your time, mate, Thanks so much
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: for having your chat this morning.
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: Thanks, thank you.
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: That is John Patterson there, the CEO of the Aboriginal
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: Medical Services Alliance here in the Northern Territory.