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Media

The Far West LHD Media Unit is responsible for all media inquiries and interviews with Far West LHD staff members. The Unit regularly advises on major public health issues and disease outbreaks, through media releases, media conferences and, sometimes, special telephone hotlines.

Contact us

The Media Officer for Far West LHD is Branko Licul on 0411 119 592 or email branko.licul@health.nsw.gov.au

The Media Unit is the primary point of contact for news organisations. All media enquiries must come through the Media Unit in the first instance. This includes:

  • Requests for interviews
  • Photo requests of staff, patients or our facilities
  • General enquiries about health issues
  • Any condition updates on patients who have been injured in an accident or are otherwise of interest to the media

Please do not call our hospitals directly as they are not allowed to provide this information.

Staff are not permitted to speak to journalists or representatives of media organisations without the knowledge or permission of the Media Officer.

An On-Call Media Officer is available after normal business hours to assist media with urgent enquiries. This is organised on a roster basis and the correct person to contact is available via a voicemail message on 0411 119 592.

 

 

 

 




View Far West LHD Media Releases for

<< The archived Media Releases from the Greater Western AHS can be accessed here >>





23 May 2018

Rap Video Song “River Down” Launch In Wilcannia


A rap video/song created and performed by Wilcannia locals to help raise awareness about smoking amongst Aboriginal women during pregnancy will be officially launched in the township on Tuesday, 29 May 2018.

The video “River Down” was the result of the Far West Local Health District (FWLHD) working with members of the Wilcannia community to produce culturally appropriate media encouraging women who are pregnant with Aboriginal babies and their families to become smoke free.

“We are very excited to have the first public premiere of the video rap song and in the community in which it was created,” said Ms Rebecca Crawford, Health Promotion Officer, FWLHD.

Ms Crawford said the video/song will be used for the ‘Quit for New Life’ (QFNL) smoking cessation program in the FWLHD, and its primary aim is to reduce the incidence of women smoking who are pregnant with Aboriginal babies.

“Currently the rate of Aboriginal women who smoke during pregnancy in the far west of NSW is around 70% in comparison to non-Aboriginal women which is currently around 25%,” she said.

“We are hoping the video/song will engage Aboriginal people to understand the cultural and social issues at play in their communities around smoking and that it will help reduce rates.”

The project was funded under the state-wide NSW Government initiative QFNL Program that aims to address the issue of smoking during pregnancy.

The video/song was produced following a week-long community workshop in Wilcannia last year with Desert Pea Media (DPM). A workshop was also held in Broken Hill and a number of main stream and social media radio ads and featurettes were produced.

“DPM and FWLHD staff supported participants in a discussion about the issues around smoking in pregnancy, the impact on the mother, baby and family. Part of the discussion was about making positive choices and what they could do to improve their health and wellbeing.” said Ms Crawford.

The ‘River Down’ rap song will be launched in Wilcannia on Tuesday May 29 2018 at 5:30pm at the Wilcannia Town Hall. Everyone is invited to attend.

Ms Crawford said The Wilcannia Working Party was consulted and engaged during the development of ‘River Down’ rap song to ensure it was culturally appropriate.

“We are also especially grateful to all the participants who volunteered to take part in the workshop and who worked collaboratively to produce this great song. I hope that everyone enjoys it,” said Ms Crawford.

All of the QFN L media resources will be used in a local health promotion campaign on radio and social media.