Aust Health Rev. 1993;16(4):332-9.
Against a background of the appalling health problems experienced by indigenous Australians, the following discussion details the current status of health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and recent government and non-government initiatives to address these problems. In many localities, health services are overwhelmed by the tasks confronting them. State and Territory governments, having primary responsibility for the health of all citizens, must act in close cooperation with local communities, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC), regional councils and Aboriginal health services to ensure inequalities are addressed in health service provision to Australia's indigenous people. The Federal government, through ATSIC and the Department of Human Services and Health, has implemented a range of initiatives in order to make a significant contribution to indigenous health and welfare. A primary task remains to implement broader scale changes relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within the mainstream health services. Mainstream services have the primary responsibility, and are funded on behalf of the whole population, to address health problems in a working partnership with the communities they serve. The Australian Hospital Association and its membership can help to improve the health of indigenous peoples by actively and sensitively working with them in the localities where they live, and through advocacy in the policies and plans that shape the whole of our health system.
在澳大利亚原住民面临骇人听闻的健康问题这一背景下，以下讨论详述了针对原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民的医疗服务现状，以及政府和非政府组织近期为解决这些问题所采取的举措。在许多地区，医疗服务不堪重负。对所有公民的健康负有主要责任的州和领地政府，必须与当地社区、原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民委员会（ATSIC）、地区议会及原住民医疗服务机构密切合作，以确保在为澳大利亚原住民提供医疗服务时消除不平等现象。联邦政府通过ATSIC以及人类服务与卫生部，已实施了一系列举措，以便为原住民的健康和福利做出重大贡献。一项首要任务仍是在主流医疗服务体系内实施与原住民和托雷斯海峡岛民相关的更广泛变革。主流服务机构有主要责任，并代表全体民众获得资金，要与它们所服务的社区建立工作伙伴关系来解决健康问题。澳大利亚医院协会及其成员可以通过在原住民居住的地区与他们积极且贴心地合作，以及在塑造我们整个医疗体系的政策和规划方面进行倡导，来帮助改善原住民的健康状况。
