NAIDOC Week - building bridges between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

Mercy Hospital for Women celebrated NAIDOC Week this year with staff, clients, families and politicians joining in the festivities.

NAIDOC (National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week celebrates the endurance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and their contributions in diverse areas including the arts, traditional culture, sport, and health services.

The week is held every July from the first to the second Sunday. This year it followed Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology to the stolen generations and the festival's theme was: Advance Australia Fair?

Mercy Hospital for Women Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Officer, Vera Webber, said NAIDOC Week was of particular interest to the Transitions Clinic, because it worked strongly with the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service to provide seamless continuity of care between the two services.

Vera gave a traditional welcome at a festival lunch attended by staff, community members, Transitions Clinic clients and their families. Mercy Health Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Cornelissen, and Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, addressed guests. State MP for Ivanhoe, Craig Langdon, was also there.

The partner of a Transitions Clinic patient played a didgeridoo at the lunch - the couple were singing to a different tune a week later when they celebrated the birth of their first baby at the hospital!

The maternity wards also joined the NAIDOC festivities, and were wonderfully decorated by a team of enthusiastic and creative midwives. The week ended in style with an afternoon tea in the ward.

Thanks to everyone involved for a great team effort and a wonderful celebration!