Coonamble Aboriginal Health Service create first-of-its-kind program with Hearing Australia

But a new program being piloted in Coonamble may soon change this.

Phil Naden, CEO of the Coonamble Aboriginal Health Service (CAHS), said hearing loss, like other health issues, is often ignored by people in remote communities due to the challenges that come with travelling for treatment.

"Not only hearing, but right across the board people put their health not even second. It's not even a priority," he told the Daily Liberal.

"With the current lifestyles of people living in the bush, what people really find hard is if they do need to travel to a regional or metro city it comes at a cost and people don't have the time to travel."

"Then their health deteriorates and it turns into a chronic disease and by the end of it they experience poor health- not because of their own actions but because of location."

To help make hearing services more accessible, CAHS are partnering with Hearing Australia for a first-of-its-kind program they hope will improve outcomes for the estimated 43 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have hearing loss.

CAHS is one of three Aboriginal health organisations which have worked closely with Hearing Australia over the past six months to co-design the Shared Hearing Services Partnership model, to be rolled out Australia-wide.

Under the partnership, Hearing Australia will work with local health services to improve the impact of free hearing services within their communities and build the capability of local health staff.

"It's about reshaping the way hearing services are delivered not only to Coonamble but remote communities and Aboriginal people in our communities all around Australia," said Mr Naden.

"We have the same issues here that everywhere else does in remote communities, so it was timely for us to engage with them to add value to a service we already have and have the expertise on the ground around hearing."

In May, Hearing Australia officially signed an agreement with CAHS and the Orange Aboriginal Medical Service (OAMS), who also helped develop the model.

"We are pleased to announce this significant step," Kim Terrell, Managing Director of Hearing Australia, said.

"We currently work with more than 100 Aboriginal community-controlled health services and will provide hearing services to some 25,000 First Nations children and adults this financial year."

"But we need to improve the hearing health outcomes for First Nations peoples and through these partnerships, we're looking forward to collaborating with more local services as we roll the model out across the country."

Jamie Newman, CEO of OAMS, said the focus of the Shared Hearing Services Partnership is on working together to deliver the care First Nations people want and need.

"We're in a period of change and need to lead that change if we're going to see better health outcomes for our mob," Mr Newman said.

"Our people need consistent healthcare, and through this partnership and our ongoing relationship with Hearing Australia, we have a great opportunity to work closely together to improve access to hearing health that will benefit our people today and future generations."

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