KAMS: State Govt’s COVID Care at Home package not accessible to Kimberley’s remote Aboriginal communities

The Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service has slammed the State Government’s $40 million home monitoring program for COVID-positive patients, claiming it fails to address accessibility barriers for Aboriginal people. Launched in late January, the COVID Care at Home program is an opt-in telehealth service designed to provide at-home care to at-risk patients diagnosed with COVID-19. New South Wales-based company Calvary Medibank Joint Venture was awarded the contract to deliver the service late last year. KAMS chief executive Vicki O’Donnell said the program failed to consider culturally appropriate care for Aboriginal people, deterring patients who could not access known and trusted local health care providers. “Now we have a situation where the WA Government has invested significant funding into a program that is not going to be accessible to a high proportion of Aboriginal people living in the Kimberley, most of whom are susceptible to COVID-19,” she said. “There is an opportunity here to invest in Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations across the region which are proven to be accessible, taking into account geographic location, cultural and language diversity, access to technology and financial circumstances of Aboriginal patients and families. “I am concerned that there is a huge service gap here which the sector is going to be expected to fill without any additional resourcing.” WA Health has refuted the claims, saying the program is available to anyone in a residential setting with access to a telephone, including those in remote locations. “The department recognises that the COVID Care at Home model requires a digital access and digital literacy and is working to identify those people who may not be able to access the model and plan for alternative models of care,” a spokesperson said. WA Health said key representatives from the Aboriginal community-controlled health sector were engaged in the project’s development and appropriate tender processes were followed.