Diversity and Inclusion

Hunter Primary Care is committed to embracing diversity and eliminating all forms of discrimination in the provision of health services. We welcome all people of diverse ethnicity, lifestyle choice, faith, sexual orientation, gender identity; and those who have a lived experience with disability.

Through a range of inclusion initiatives, we work tirelessly to improve Hunter Primary Care as an inclusive and culturally-safe organisation – both for staff and for the community – providing high quality health care services where all people are treated equitably and with respect.

Our objective is to ensure that our organisation is welcoming of all people in the community, every time they visit one of our locations or interact with us in any way.

We support the LGBTQ+ Community
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In 2020, Hunter Primary Care joined the Pride in Health + Wellbeing program to understand how we can further contribute to the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ people through the ongoing provision of safe and inclusive services. In the process, we will:

  • Gain a greater understanding of the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals in accessing health and human services
  • Become aware of and be guided by best practice as well as annual shifts/changes in benchmarked standards for LGBTQ+ inclusive service delivery
  • Enhance service user satisfaction within the LGBTQ+ community and beyond
  • Reach out to a highly loyal market segment
  • Enjoy recognition for commitment to equity in health, inclusion and diversity.
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Hunter Primary Care understands that accessing health services is not always easy for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

We are a proud member of the ACON ‘Welcome Here’ project that demonstrates to the LGBTQ+ community that our organisation is safe, inclusive and welcoming to all people in the community.

By displaying the ‘Welcome Here’ sticker on the front door of all of our business locations, we publicly embrace the LGBTQ+ community while also actively promoting our organisation as a place that is free from judgement, prejudice and discrimination.

In 2018, we introduced LGBTQ+ Inclusive Practice In-Person Training as a mandatory module for all frontline staff who work with us. The training is conducted by ACON, New South Wales based health promotion organisation specialising in HIV prevention, HIV support and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTQI) health.

We support Aboriginal People and Communities

Hunter Primary Care is committed to reconciliation, and to ensuring that our offices and services are relevant and appropriate, and feel safe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

We encourage understanding and sensitivity among staff by providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural awareness training as mandatory for all frontline staff members.

We value collaboration, and work closely with Aboriginal community stakeholders and Aboriginal employees to help design and provide feedback on how our services and programs can work best for Aboriginal people, and how as an employer we can improve our workplace for Aboriginal employees.

Where specific health needs are identified, we work with Aboriginal organisations and services to design and provide tailored care and supports that respond to those needs.

As an organisation, we also work actively toward reconciliation in the community, and are proud to have had our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan endorsed by Reconciliation Australia. We work closely with local communities and organisations, we invite Aboriginal elders to present to staff on Aboriginal heritage, experience and health, we acknowledge Sorry business, celebrate Reconciliation Week, and join the community’s NAIDOC Week events.

We support People from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds

Hunter Primary Care appreciates that navigating healthcare can be challenging for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

For more than thirty years, we have been providing healthcare in the Hunter community. Our staff (doctors, nurses, psychologists, counsellors, social workers, allied health professionals, care coordinators and more) have experience providing healthcare and delivering support services to people who come from many different countries and backgrounds, and who speak many different languages.

Across our programs, we work to understand each person’s individual cultural background and language needs when they first contact us, so that we can ensure we provide the most appropriate support – for example, by arranging an interpreter (via telephone or face-to-face) to assist during appointments.

We also provide a range of specialist services that includes work with people from diverse backgrounds, including:

  • Psychosocial support services (including coordination) to people from refugee backgrounds;
  • Primary mental health services that provide therapeutic support to clients who have faced trauma in their history including those who have recently arrived in Australia.

Hunter Primary Care as an organisation demonstrates cultural understanding and respect.

We support People Living with Disability

Hunter Primary Care is committed to ensuring that all people, regardless of disability or diagnosis, have the same chances to access and benefit from our services, and to be part of our organisation.

We are committed to ensuring we are as inclusive as possible of people with a lived experience of disability, including:

  • Each of our offices and consultation spaces is physically accessible, with accommodations such as dedicated parking, ramps, rails and accessible rooms and facilities,
  • Our website includes accessibility options making it easier for more people to read and navigate,
  • Within each of our services, we also make adjustments to the care and environment (e.g. longer appointments, inclusion of family or carers, use of interpreters and communication aids, home visits) as necessary to ensure the service provided is appropriate; and
  • Where required, we work with, and encourage the use of advocates and involvement of support people.

All of our services and programs are accessible to people with disability. We are also a registered NDIS provider specialising in support coordination, specialist support coordination, allied health and positive behaviour support.

Hunter Primary Care is an active member of the Diversity Council of Australia.

We Welcome Your Feedback

We encourage people who access our services to provide feedback about their experiences, and about our Diversity and Inclusion commitments.

We continually strive to better our services to ensure that we are fully supporting people in our community.