Delivery of health services and associated strategies for Indigenous community pharmacies across the country will now fall under a dedicated network announced by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, with former Minister of Indigenous Australians Linda Burney to act as inaugural chair.
More than 5,800 community pharmacies operate across the country - the Guild acting as their advocate body, including in Government agreements, helping shape policy and practise and as an employer representative.
At their recent annual Parliamentary Dinner, the Guild announced the established First Nations Pharmacy Network tasked with improving services to Indigenous Australians.
This includes the engagement of First Nations communities by local pharmacists, primary health care delivery, recommendations to internal committees and touch-points with Rural Pharmacists Australia (RPA) and the National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA), supporting pharmacies to do so.
An existing Indigenous Health Strategy, centred on improving the health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, exists within the Guild.
The network's work has begun with a formal meeting and an implementation strategy is under development.
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescribing rights of medicines are pending expansion, with the guild identifying resulting enhancement to primary care access in rural and remote areas.
Ms Burney said the network "reflects the power of genuine partnership and the importance of embedding cultural safety in every part of our health system".
"We don't have to choose between practical and symbolic reconciliation - we can and must do both. Community-led care is not only effective, but also an act of respect," she said.
"Community pharmacies are often the first point of contact in the health system - places where trust is built and medicines are explained.
"In community pharmacy, agency and autonomy are returned to patients and communities: individuals are empowered to make informed choices about their health, ask questions freely, and participate actively in their care.
"This approach honours cultural knowledge and community leadership, ensuring care is co-created and led by those it serves, with allies walking alongside in genuine partnership, with pharmacist owned community pharmacies."
The network is also intended to: recommend strategies and improve service delivery via practitioner-owned pharmacies, including the First Nations community pharmacy programs; embed Indigenous perspectives into the sector; support employment, training and pharmacy-ownership for Indigenous Australians and act as a forum for ongoing guidance on opportunities within Indigenous communities.
In addition, it will provide support to and consult the Guilds internal Health Ethics Advisory Panel and Workplace Relations and Member Engagement Committee.
"We know there can be no Closing the Gap without collaboration," Pharmacy Guild of Australia national president Professor Trent Twomey said.
"With the expert guidance of Linda Burney as Chair, we are committed to ensuring culturally safe, accessible, and community-led care remains at the heart of our sector."
Professor Twomey added "we know there's more work to do" to existing efforts to close the gap.
"This is about walking alongside First Nations communities, listening, and acting together," he said.
