Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Two excellent primary healthcare providers in Calwell received Medicare Champion awards at the Stronger Medicare Awards ceremony the other day.

GROW Clinical Psychology in Roxburgh Park led by Dr Firdevs Tat delivers culturally sensitive bulk-billed mental health services to our multicultural community. The team is recognised for its commitment to accessibility, particularly for culturally and linguistically diverse communities. To meet the needs of its large cohort of Turkish-speaking clients, the GROW team includes Turkish-speaking practitioners, including the only Turkish-speaking consultant psychiatrist in Victoria. GROW promotes the importance of mental health and works to reduce the stigma of mental health challenges. The team has a particular focus on community outreach, running workshops for teachers and parents at local schools, engaging women's family violence services and working with referring health professionals.

The other Calwell award recipient is Dr Mohammed Al Ebrahimi, the CEO of People First Healthcare, which is also in Roxburgh Park. Dr Al Ebrahimi is an optometrist who arrived in Australia in 1998 as a refugee from Iraq. People First Healthcare supports almost 1,000 clients and employs around 300 staff. Many of his patients are refugees and migrants born in the Middle East, who face significant barriers to accessing health services.

Congratulations to both of these excellent local services on receiving their much-deserved awards.

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