Championing cultural safety and system change

We caught up with second-year Board member Laurie West to talk about how he contributes to our strategic leadership aiming to improve health outcomes for all patients across the region.

Laurie West (46) is a proud Kalkadoon Djkunde man, and currently the Senior Lead, Quality and Accreditation with Kalwun Development Corporation, overseeing the implementation of quality frameworks and continuous improvement across the organisation.

He has held several other influential roles within the Southeast Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Sector, working closely with Queensland Health and mainstream GP practices to advance healthcare delivery.

Laurie holds a Bachelor of Nursing Science, is a qualified quality auditor, and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Here, in his own words, he shares a life in healthcare inspired by generations of family, connection to Country, a drive for cultural system change, and his own health and fitness journey.

 

Early inspiration and career path

My mum Karen West was a health worker in Mount Isa for 50 years.

She started as a Community Aboriginal Health Worker and went on to become district manager, leading Indigenous health in our area. In 2022, she won the Workforce Legend award from the National Association of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners (NAATSIHWP).

My twin sisters and I are all Registered Nurses, inspired by a shared passion for improving our people’s health, and by mum’s leadership. Roianne is now a professor of nursing, winner of the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Director at Sydney University. Our other sister Leeone West continues nursing in Mount Isa.

Our dad Laurie West Snr was a hardworking man who, alongside Mum, gave us direction, motivation and leadership.

 

First-generation beginnings

I’m the youngest of the four children, and I’ve always been lucky to have those strong women in my life. We grew up surrounded by family and culture in Mount Isa, and those roots shaped who we were and what we wanted to do.

My grandmother used to say, “It doesn’t matter what job you get or what title you hold, just remember who you are and where you come from.”

We carry that advice with us always, even as we take on more influential roles.

Culture is core to who I am. Listening to my Elders share the challenges they faced reminds me why I have the opportunities I do today and why I am so grateful to be in my roles with Kalwun and the PHN.

 

Joining the Gold Coast PHN

I was introduced to the PHN by Katrina McLean and my CEO, Kieran Chilcott. My nursing experience at Gold Coast Hospital and work at Kalwun gave me insight into how people move through the health system.

After more than 15 years working in Indigenous Health across southeast Queensland, joining the PHN Board felt like the next step; to contribute collaboratively to positive outcomes across the Gold Coast health sector.

As a clinical nurse in quality and accreditation and a PHN Director, I’m focused on streamlining systems and ensuring a high standard of care for our community.

 

Advocacy and system change

Through collaboration with community, executives and strategic partners, I want to help drive positive system change for the health of the Gold Coast.

I’m passionate about improving cultural safety standards and training across the health sector and ensuring cultural safety is a genuine priority.

 

The future of Australia’s PHNs

I joined the GCPHN Board to help drive meaningful healthcare change, not just from an Indigenous perspective, but from a clinical one too.

I bring both worlds to the table; my clinical background and cultural heritage and I stay active in clinical auditing, because quality care is essential.

Our GP clinics need PHNs to help shape direction with strong quality and accreditation practices.

The multidisciplinary model of care now emerging will offer more holistic support, and as someone who’s taken this approach in Indigenous Health for 15 years, I’m excited to help guide it forward.

 

My own health and fitness journey

Outside work, I love spending time with my wife Rachel and stepdaughter Eva (18) and our puppy Bentley.

I also play competitive netball, and I have represented the Gold Coast in men’s and mixed teams for many years, including 15 years at Super League level and I also coach and umpire.

I put a lot into staying healthy with regular gym sessions, magnesium baths, massage, saunas, compression, cupping, acupuncture, and cryotherapy twice a month.

I’m now 46, and a family cardiac history and family members suffering diabetes drives me to look after myself, so I can keep showing up for my family, my community, my sport and my work.