Essay CDU Wellness Centre – Cultural Safety Position Statement Organisation – Management Assignment Help

Assignment Task:

Background 
The CDU Wellness Centre was founded in 2019 to further promote CDU’s strong links to support the community and promoting and building healthy bodies, minds and community with Darwin and across the Northern Territory. It is the primary community wellness provider and training facility for Health students at CDU. It represents, advocates and supports community health and wellness across the Norther Territory. We are a Educational and Community Service based organisation and are governed by the Chancellor of CDU. We believe that health and wellness are the backbone of the of the Darwin community and that we play a pivotal role in providing culturally safe health and wellness services to all persons regardless of background and location across the Northern Territory. As healthcare providers and educators of future health care workers, our responsibility to educate and demonstrate quality and inclusive care is critical. 
A key strategic direction for The Wellness Centre are further strengthen our community links and our effectiveness is supporting and advocating for health and wellness of all cultural groups within the community. Cultural safety is integral to pursuing this vision. Cultural safety is viewed by The Wellness Centre as the central tenant of education and health services that is guided by cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, cultural respect, cultural knowledge and competence across all areas of our programs and services. 
We view cultural safety as part of our clients and staff’s own lived experience and not defined by the Wellness Centre or our staff. The Wellness Centre advocates on behalf of all members of the community seeking support through our services by promoting a framework of cultural safety to inform attitudes and behaviours in the provision of care by health professionals to individuals and communities, so individuals and their families feel culturally secure, safe and respected while use our services and accessing our programs. To achieve this cultural safety is embedded into every aspect of our centre, from training to deliver of health services. 

Our position The Wellness Centre: 
• Advocates for fair and equal access to health and wellness education and programs for all service users 
• Acknowledges the institutional racism that has contributed to the barriers amongst some users of CDU facilities and promotes equal access to services in a respectful and culturally safe environment 
• Works in partnership with relevant stakeholders/ key industry personal 
• Funds continuing professional development on cultural safety for all staff and students 
• who work at our facility 
• Engage with relevant health organizations in addressing their members’ needs 
• Recognise the role of power in the relationship between the CDU health professional and the patient (Lupton, 2012) 
• All CDU wellness health professionals will undertake a process of self-reflection as part of our commitment to lifelong learning activities for the purpose of mentoring students and the community on health and wellness. 

Rationale 
Why having such a statement is important for providing a culturally safe healthcare environment 
Cultural safety in health services is paramount to provide safe and respectful care to diverse cultures. This is achieved by recognizing and respecting the differences between people’s social, political and economic position within society, whilst seeking to understand one’s own cultural identity through the process of personal reflection (Arieli & Friedman, 2012; Milne, Creedy, & West, 2016). The Wellness Centre’s position statement enables staff and clients to promote a culture and health care environment that is free from racism, discrimination and power imbalances that may be inherent between themselves and those to which they are delivery care (Phiri, Dietsch, & Bonner, 2010). Given the culturally diverse demographic of Darwin and the Northern Territory, the position statement strongly affirms the Centre’s belief that cultural safe and respectful delivery of health services is an international human right and is known to lead to better health outcomes (United Nations, 2007). The community-centered nature of the wellness center therefore requires that social, emotional, physical, and cultural wellbeing is supported through our delivery of care and services. Dockery (2009), supports this but stating that when the “whole individual” is cared for, that individual can not only achieve their full potential but it contributes to the wellbeing of the whole community. 

• The importance of effective communication in the provision of a culturally safe environment. 
• The external influences that may contribute or detract from culturally safe practice in the healthcare environment. 
• How might this contribute to improving the health outcomes of the organization’s target clients 
• What are the barriers, to implementing this position statement, that might exist within the organization? How might these barriers be overcome?