The Narrangy Booris Aboriginal Child and Family Health Service at Menai turns 10

The Narrangy Booris Aboriginal Child and Family Health Service at Menai is run by South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD) through its Child, Youth & Family Services unit and provides culturally appropriate and safe services for Aboriginal women and children.

The service celebrated the milestone on Tuesday, July 14, with a small event attended by SESLHD chief executive Tobi Wilson and Sutherland Hospital's Aboriginal health unit manager Tim Croft who read the acknowledgment of country before staff were presented with a commemorative plaque featuring the centre's logo.

The free service was formed in 2010 to address the huge gap in health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders when compared with the population as a whole.

The team includes Aboriginal health workers, child and family health nurses, a speech pathologist, occupational therapist, social worker, paediatrician and a women's health nurse who work together to ensure ongoing care and information for mothers and children from birth to five years.

They work together to ensure ongoing care for mothers and children from birth to five years.

The service has seen a significant increase in demand over the past 10 years, according to a SESLHD spokeswoman.

Aboriginal health worker Wendy Bunn said the centre was the first in NSW to be funded through the Building Strong Foundations for Aboriginal Children, Families and Communities program.

They started with just 35 clients in their first six months but have since supported more than 1000 clients and delivered more than 10,500 services.

"We now have approximately 500 active clients engaged with the service," Ms Bunn said.

Clients are referred to the centre by their hospital's midwifery units, GPs, or other Aboriginal services. Others are self-referred.

Ms Bunn said the most important role of an Aboriginal health worker was to build trust with the client.

"Aboriginal health workers are more about the cultural side of things. We provide a culturally safe place for our clients so they are engaged and feel safe coming back," she said.

"We built trust in order to keep the families engaged.

"The goal is to close the gap on health outcomes for Aboriginal people and ensure all children receive the best possible start to life."

Ms Bunn said Census figures showed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in Sutherland Shire rose from almost 1300 in 2006 to 2500 in 2016 - an increase of 40 per cent.

She said clients came from all over NSW and it was therefore important to be culturally sensitive because Aboriginal culture was very different from place to place.

The centre offers a range of services including a postnatal group, transition to school program and free swimming lessons for children, which are funded from donations.

The centre is located at Menai Community Health Centre, 32 Allison Crescent, Menai, and is open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5pm.