Telstra Health Honours National Reconciliation Week by joining with Experts in First Nations Health

National Reconciliation Week: Supporting the health and care of First Nations peoples is a key consideration in the vast majority of our digital health solutions.

Many of our solutions intersect with supporting aged care, primary and community care, pharmacy and healthcare in hospitals in Indigenous and remote communities, and this National Reconciliation Week was a timely occasion to take a moment to better understand how we can further support First Nations peoples.

On Wednesday 3 June, marking the closing day of this year’s National Reconciliation Week, Telstra Health employees from across Australia and the United Kingdom gathered together for a company-wide virtual event to discuss how we can work towards a more just, equitable and reconciled nation.

We were honoured to be joined by John Paterson, CEO of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT), Dr Lisa Whop, epidemiologist at the Australian National University and an expert on improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with cancer, and Vanessa Hounsell, Senior Specialist for Indigenous Affairs at Telstra.

The experiences, expertise and insights shared by Paterson, Whop and Hounsell were truly empowering and enabled Telstra Health to better  understand the utmost need for reconciliation in Australia.

An insightful discussion around the histories, cultures, and challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples spoken through the lives of those who work with Indigenous communities on a daily basis, enabled Telstra Health staff to better understand the importance of reconciliation and how we can all work together on our journey of reconciliation, both as a business and as individuals.

We are very grateful to have had the opportunity to further our understanding around the need for true reconciliation in Australia through such esteemed individuals, and in our ongoing commitment to supporting the health and care of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples this is something we will continue to collaborate on together.

After all – and to cite the theme of this year’s National Reconciliation Week – we are all in this together.