Hello, I am Commissioner Dominic Morgan, Chief Executive of

NSW Ambulance.

I'm talking to you today as part of Close the Gap Day…a day
which is about bringing people together… to share
information…. and most importantly to take meaningful action
in support of achieving Indigenous health equality.

NSW Ambulance is an organisation which is focussed on

improving health and life expectancy outcomes for Indigenous
people.

We recognise that, sadly, Indigenous people still face

significantly poorer health and life expectancy outcomes than
non-indigenous Australians.

In our role… providing frontline of out of hospital emergency

medical care in NSW…. we recognise that we as an
organisation have a vital role to play in addressing this issue.

Throughout the life of the ‘Closing the Gap’ initiative, we have

worked closely with leading Non-Government Organisation,
Oxfam Australia as part of a longstanding partnership to
overcome Indigenous disadvantage.
We have taken meaningful steps towards addressing
Indigenous disadvantage… not just through the care we
provide our patients…. but also through our efforts to create
employment opportunities and nurture the careers of our
Aboriginal staff.

We are keenly focussed on increasing Indigenous employment

opportunities within our organisation and supporting more of
our Indigenous staff into senior leadership roles over the next
10 years.

We recognise the important role that employment and

education have in supporting good health outcomes, and have
made significant strides to ensure that we create opportunities
for Indigenous Australians.

Through the launch of a targeted employment program which

offer opportunities across a range of roles including corporate
staff….paramedics…. flight nurses… Triple Zero (000) call
takers …and control centre teams… we continue to work
towards delivering better outcomes to Indigenous communities.

Our Indigenous paramedics play a key role in helping to inform

our organisation on how to best meet the clinical care needs of
Indigenous patients and communities in a way which is
culturally respectful and helps deliver positive health outcomes.

Another way that NSW Ambulance has worked to generate

organisational change is with the championing of NSW Health’s
‘Respecting the Difference’ training package… ensuring our
whole workforce is aware that supporting the social…
emotional… cultural ….and spiritual wellbeing of our
Indigenous patients is a crucial facet in addressing their overall
health care.

Through partnerships with Indigenous Medical Services and

initiatives such as our Aboriginal Cardiac Care Education, NSW
Ambulance strives to deliver culturally appropriate support
services and clinical care for Indigenous patients.

We take pride in highlighting and celebrating the contribution of

our Indigenous staff and their successful employment journeys
with our organisation, by providing support through Our
Aboriginal Workforce Development program and other support
services.

Since the ‘Close the Gap’ initiative was launched nationally 10

years ago, NSW Ambulance has championed the cause of
achieving equality in health and life expectancy outcomes
between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

The collective efforts of government and non-government

organisations alike, have made some inroads into supporting
better health… life expectancy… employment ….and
educational outcomes for Indigenous Australians… but we
recognise there is still a long way to go towards achieving
equality.

We want to ensure that Indigenous people can look forward to

enjoying a long happy and healthy life with just as much
certainty as non-Indigenous Australians…. and we recognise
that in our role as primary out of hospital emergency health
care providers we play an important role in ensuring this is
achieved.

Which is why it is important for organisations to embrace the

Close the Gap campaign… because addressing Indigenous
health inequality… promoting commitment to closing the life
expectancy gap…. and improving Indigenous health outcomes
within a generation is something which is everyone's
responsibility… organisationally… or individually.
Addressing ways to further improve Indigenous health equality
is a core focus of NSW Ambulance… and I'd recommend other
organisations to take up the challenge of supporting better life
outcomes for indigenous Australians.

It’s unacceptable that Aboriginal people are still dying 10 years

younger than other Australians … it’s vitally important that all
Australians do their part to address this inequality.

At NSW Ambulance will be hosting staff morning or afternoon

tea to support ‘Close The Gap’ Day across the organisation…
providing all staff with a chance to pause and reflect on our
achievements so far in supporting better health outcomes for
Aboriginal people….but also to reaffirm our commitment to
addressing the challenges still before us.