New group aims to help multicultural mental health

THE first Multicultural Working Party meeting convened by Toowoomba Hospital, where staff of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds from different organisations were represented, was held recently.

The proactive conversation was primarily focused on mental health issues in multicultural communities and how to explore and enhance the approaches to reach out and work with the communities for their benefit.

Darling Downs Health has initiated a platform for genuine conversation to reach out to the communities to establish constructive strategies to counteract various stigmas and discriminations that have negative impacts on mental health and wellbeing.

The meeting was met with enthusiasm and further work will aim at bridging the gap between health sectors and migrants in need.

Queensland Health is working towards introducing new name badges for staff who are from different cultural backgrounds.

These new name badges will include information about languages spoken and will enable patients to communicate in the language of their choice.