Northern NSW Local Health District

Finalist: Excellence in Aboriginal Healthcare​ Award

The Rheumatic Health Disease (RHD) project is a collaborative project by Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) with Aboriginal Medical Services (AMS). The project aims to address the significant public health issue of Acute Rheumatic Fever (ARF) and RHD among Aboriginal communities in Northern NSW.

Initiated by a process undertaken by AMS doctors identified many undiagnosed RHD cases, leading to the development of a comprehensive healthcare strategy.

This project aims to:

• Reduce incidences of RHD.
• Develop educational resources to improve staff and community knowledge in partnership with local AMS’.
• Improve identification and treatment of Group A Streptococcus and ARF.
• Development and implementation of a new Clinical Pathway to guide NSW Health Clinicians.

The NNSWLHD project team surveyed to assess staff knowledge. This informed the development of tailored educational resources and a training package, that was successfully implemented. The Clinical Pathway was developed in collaboration with NNSWLHD Senior Medical Staff.

We acknowledge the contributions from Mr Scott Monaghan for his support and advocacy and his medical team, NNSWLHD staff Emma-Jane Davies (lead), Dr Tim Williams, Kirsty Glanville, Robyn Auld, Sally Adams and Daniel Ashton.

The initiative has been shared with other local health districts and recognised at various healthcare forums. The RHD project showcases the collaboration and commitment to culturally safe healthcare, aligning with NSW Health's mission to support Aboriginal health.​​