In Western Sydney, over half of the region’s population was born outside of Australia, a statistic significantly higher than the state average[1]. In a community marked by diversity, it’s crucial to acknowledge the journey and challenges that people from refugee backgrounds and asylum seekers face, particularly in finding the right health care for them and their families. While they may share similar health concerns with people born in Australia, their experiences carry unique challenges. Exposure to deprivation, persecution, human rights violations and post-migration stressors can affect people long-term, physically and psychologically.
One of the critical hurdles faced by people from refugee backgrounds is navigating the complexities of the Australian health care system. Unfamiliarity with health care services and procedures, including the roles of general practice, primary health care services, pharmacies and hospital-based services, can pose significant barriers to accessing essential care.
Refugee patients with complex needs may require support from multiple services, with primary care largely responsible for managing referrals and ensuring comprehensive support. Primary care providers therefore play a pivotal role in helping refugee patients find the right health services and ongoing care.
Refugee Services in Western Sydney
Primary care providers with refugee patients can refer them to the following services that we commission in Western Sydney:
STARTTS
The NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS) is a non-profit organisation that supports refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities. We commission STARTTS to implement the CALD Mental Health Literacy Program and CALD Suicide Prevention Program.
The programs deliver psychoeducation and lifestyle group interventions for four prominent cultural groups within Western Sydney: Arabic, Hazara, South Sudanese and Tamil. The programs aim to help their clients increase mental health literacy, recognise signs of self-harm, identify suicide risk, increase protective factors against risk of poor mental health, develop coping strategies and supportive relationships and reduce social isolation and the stigma associated with seeking mental health assistance.
Translated information about STARTTS is available for patients online.
Visit the STARTTS website for more information about STARTTS and making a referral. Anyone can make a referral to STARTTS, including service providers, medical professionals, a family member or friend of the person or the person themselves.
One Door Mental Health
One Door Mental Health’s Bilingual Hospital 2 Home Program supports people from CALD communities who are leaving mental health support programs (hospital or community-based) and need support with navigating the challenges of integrating back into the community and accessing the right, culturally appropriate supports. Their bilingual mental health support workers speak common languages spoken by the community and understand a diversity of cultures.
Please visit One Door Mental Health’s website for more information about the Bilingual Hospital 2 Home Program and referral pathways.
Training and Support for Health Professionals in Western Sydney
Our Refugee Health Facilitator, Firat Abali, is available to:
- Support GPs to address the challenges faced in the provision of patient care services for refugees
- Facilitate training and provide educational resources that contribute to eliminating those challenges
- Collaborate, network and partner with key community organisations, government agencies and local councils to address health care gaps for refugees and asylum seekers
For more information, please contact Firat at firat.abali@wentwest.com.au
Additional Resources for Health Care Providers
Western Sydney HealthPathways provides up-to-date, clinically accurate information to help health professionals assess, manage and refer their patients. Visit the Refugee Health pathway to learn more.
If you require the login details to access HealthPathways, please contact our HealthPathways team at healthpathways@wentwest.com.au
To encourage people from refugee backgrounds to identify themselves, we have developed a poster in different languages that will help the patients feel more comfortable to share their experiences and what kind of services they might need. We encourage you to print and display this poster in your practice.
Information is correct as of 20 June 2024.
[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021), 2021 Census, available from: https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/search-by-area