Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Service
We acknowledge Sutherland Hospital is on land traditionally owned by the Dharawal people of the Eora nation. We pay our respects to elders past and present.
We welcome all people requiring care and their families, carers and friends to our hospital.
We ask all people coming to our hospital ‘Are you living as or known as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander in your community?’ If you answer yes, we will contact Samantha Gifford, our Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Officer (AHLO) and let her know you are here.
Coming to hospital can be a difficult time. Samantha is available to have a yarn if you are finding it difficult being away from your home and family, if you are dealing with sorry business or feel a bit lonely or anxious.
Samantha is part of our Social Work team and is available to provide you the following support
- Provide you with and your family with emotional, social and cultural support
- Advocate and liaise with other staff on your behalf
- Provide information about hospital services
- Provide information on your rights and responsibilities
- Organise referrals to other services (eg Aboriginal, Legal, Child Care Protection)
- Help you get financial assistance if you need it (eg pensions, benefits, IPTAAS (Isolated Patient’s Travel and Accommodation Scheme))
- Advice on accommodation if you are travelling to Sydney from the country
- Help you and the social worker to fill in an application for housing
- Work with the hospital team to organise nursing, hospice or respite care if you need it
- Organise for you to get help if you need it when you get home. This includes help with housework, shopping, meals on wheels or any equipment you might need.
You can read our brochure for more information.
Samantha Gifford - Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Officer
Hours
8:00am - 4:30pm Monday to Friday
Social Work The Sutherland Hospital
How We Can Help You
- Changes related to an illness or disability
- Supporting you if you have a life limiting illness
- Anxiety about your hospital stay and support for your family while you are in hospital
- Offer support in times of stress, distress
- Coping with loss, grief and trauma
- Planning for when you leave hospital
- Accessing Respite or Permanent Residential Aged Care
- Providing information about services and other community resources: including psychological support, aged care support services, Centrelink, Housing NSW, NDIS, Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme (IPTAAS)
- We can also provide you with information about other agencies and services.
We also provide a service to outpatients who attend the Oncology Day Clinic, the Pre-Admission Clinic (planned surgery) and the Antenatal Clinic.
Contact Us
Our Resources
Helpful Links
- My Aged Care
- Carer Gateway
- Planning Ahead (Wills, Power of Attorney, Enduring Guardianship, Advance Care Planning)
- NDIS
- Youth Services
- Sutherland Shire Community Support Services Directory
- Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme
Hours
Monday to Friday - We are available 8:00am - 4:30pm
Weekends and Afterhours - We provide a limited weekend service and an after-hours crisis on-call social work service, if you need our help outside the times listed above then please speak with your nurse or doctor.
Department Head
Ben Birrell
Cardiac Rehabilitation
Cardiac Rehabilitation is recommended for those who have recently been admitted to hospital with a heart problem or are at risk of developing a heart issue.
Due to the current health situation and NSW Health recommendations, we are offering Cardiac Rehabilitation via Telehealth. This means that contact is through a computer, iPad, phone and/or email; staff are no longer meeting with patients in-person.
This new format is intended to be simple to use and you do not have to be an IT or computer expert to be involved. We will guide you through the steps on how to connect.
New Service options:
Heart Health Information Session (approx. 2 hours)
- A group education session providing a brief introduction on to how to manage your heart health
- These sessions are held by video-link once per month, please contact us for dates.
- Topics include:
- Heart disease management and treatment
- Medications
- Risk factors for heart disease
- The emotional recovery
- Exercise and eating for a healthy heart
Assessment with follow up contact (approx. 1 hour)
- This is an individual consultation about your cardiac condition
- Advice is on all aspects of your recovery
- This service is conducted through either video-link or phone
- We will provide specific supplementary information to you before and after the assessment
Please call or email our office to confirm your interest; we suggest to book in as soon as possible.
We are available by phone 02 9540 7309 and email SESLHD-SHARCS@health.nsw.gov.au.
Office hours are Monday – Friday 7:00am - 3:30pm.
-34.0371135, 151.1148321
Cardiac rehabilitation describes all the measures used to help people with coronary heart disease or other heart problems return to their normal activities and reduce their risk of further cardiovascular events.
The service, Sutherland Hospital Awareness and Cardiac Support (SHARCS), is available to those residents who live in Sutherland Shire and have had a recent cardiac event or are at risk of heart disease.
The service is not available to those with heart failure, care facility residents, those with poor balance and/or cognitive impairment.
SHARCS provides exercise and education programs to assist recovery after recent:
- Heart Attack (myocardial infarction (MI))
- Stable Angina
- Heart Surgery (bypass grafts (CABG), valve replacements/repairs (AVR, MVR, TVR))
- Angioplasty and Stent insertion (PCI)
- Pacemakers and/or defibrillator (AICD) insertion
- Atrial fibrillation (AF)
- Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD)
- Takotsubo cardiomyopathy
- Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) repairs
- Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI)
- Heart transplant
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors
- Other heart related conditions
SHARCS Cardiac Rehabilitation programs provide:
- Education and information
- Exercise sessions
- Assistance for self-management
- Emotional support
- Behaviour modification strategies
- Medication and physiological review
- Post-surgical assessment
- Links to community exercise services and facilities
These programs can help you and your family deal with physical, emotional and psychological recovery.
SHARCS Cardiac Rehabilitation sessions cover topics such as:
- Heart disease
- Heart investigations and treatment
- Risk factors for heart disease
- Emotional recovery and strategies
- Medications
- Eating for a healthy heart
- Exercise for heart health
- Advance care directives
The programs are developed and run by qualified health professionals, complementing the support and individual medical care given by your doctors.
If you have been in hospital you are encouraged to contact your local cardiac rehabilitation program the week after discharge.
The Heart Foundation recommends that all patients with coronary heart disease participate in a Cardiac Rehabilitation program. In particular people who have or have had a heart attack; angioplasty with or without a stent implantation; heart surgery; angina; or other heart conditions.
International research into Cardiac Rehabilitation programs show that participation can improve your recovery and future health. Participation will help in returning to work and other activities earlier; increasing your social independence; reducing any anxiety and depression you may be feeling; giving you a greater capacity for physical activity and making you less likely to return to smoking.
Please check the 'Why Cardiac Rehabilitation Really matters' - Brochure from Australian Cardiovascular Health and Rehabilitation Association (ACRA)
The first step is to contact the SHARCS Cardiac Rehabilitation team and make an appointment for your assessment before commencing an exercise program or book into a SHARCS Healthy Heart Information Day session.
Exercise Options
Individually-tailored exercise programs that include an individual assessment with a Cardiac Nurse and an Exercise Physiologist, followed by additional sessions specific to the below programs.
Twelve Week Program
Fast SHARCS: Tuesday & Friday 7-8am
Suitable for those working or planning to return to work.
Best outcomes are achieved when attendance is twice-weekly with minimal interruption.
Held on site at The Sutherland Hospital Rehabilitation Gymnasium.
Eight Week Program
Group 1: Tuesday 9.30am & Friday 8am
Group 2: Tuesday 8am & Friday 9.30am
This program includes weekly one hour education sessions following the 9:30am class.
Best outcomes are achieved when attendance is twice weekly with minimal interruption.
Held on site at The Sutherland Hospital Rehabilitation Gymnasium.
Telehealth Program
This program is conducted through video-link or telephone consultations.
Suitable for those who cannot access The Sutherland Hospital. Contact is made to you via your device: computer, laptop, tablet, mobile phone or home phone.
Best outcomes are achieved through weekly consultations.
Held off site, in a location of your choosing that is quiet and has a clear telephone connection or strong internet connection.
Education Options
There are two SHARCS education options, which provide information to successfully manage your heart condition. Partners or family members are welcome to attend.
Healthy Heart Information Day
This information day will provide you with knowledge and skills to successfully manage your heart health. This day is a one-off education day held once per month on a Wednesday from 8am to 3pm.
Weekly Education Session
As part of the SHARCS Eight Week Program, a weekly one hour education session is held after the 9.30am gym class at 11am.
SHARCS can contacted by:
Phone: 02 9540 7309
Email: SESLHD-SHARCS@health.nsw.gov.au
The phone is unattended while staff are conducting exercise sessions, please leave a message on the answering machine with your name and contact number clearly stated. The team will return your call as soon as possible.
Please allow two hours for individual initial assessment for consultation. A support person is welcome to attend. Please advise upon booking if a health care interpreter is required.