Table 1 Recommendations for Physical Design of Hospitals

Locate an Aboriginal Welcome Desk at the entrance to the hospital staffed by with Aboriginal people to allow a welcome/acknowledgement of country and to assist patients and their family members effectively negotiate the hospital system

Create a physical environment that provides a welcoming signal; consider colour, texture, light, form and cultural symbolism to create a more comforting and homelike environment

Improve signage: recognise that some people have limitations in literacy, eyesight and physical fitness

Consider a building aesthetic that is sympathetic to Aboriginal people in its ambience, enabling views over or connection to Australian bushland

Build hospital rooms of adequate size to allow visits from large families and spaces that facilitate the inclusion of family members in care planning

Provide options for affordable childcare within hospitals and near Aboriginal hostels consider privacy, confidentiality and gender sensitivities in planning

Ensure there is the opportunity for family members to stay in safe, low cost accommodation close to the treatment centre

Consider accessibility to the service by public transport and availability of minimal cost parking

Acknowledge that elevators and high technology machines will be outside the experience of some Aboriginal people and need to be explained

Adopt design features that support person-centred relationship-based care rather than remote monitoring

Ensure ready access to information that helps cross cultural understanding where it is needed (maps with the location of remote communities, language groups, availability and contacts for interpreters for service providers; suitable resources to explain cancer and cancer treatments to Aboriginal people).