The College believes Aboriginal Health Practitioners (AHP), who are nationally accredited and registered to provide care to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in WA from 2023, will contribute towards more culturally safe emergency departments (EDs) for healthcare workers and patients, and will support greater health equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Whilst there is much more to be done to improve the cultural safety of health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the College welcomes this important step by WA Health and encourages other states and territories to establish similar roles within their state health systems.
ACEM considers it vital that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are represented throughout the ED workforce, including management, medical, nursing, allied health and support staff roles. The College is dedicated to supporting and continuing to build the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce in emergency departments and to promote best practice emergency care service delivery for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
ACEM’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) has a range of initiatives to support and grow the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander emergency specialist workforce, support the delivery of culturally safe care, and engage and collaborate with communities and organisations identified through a range of initiatives. In 2020, ACEM published a position statement advocating for the increased recruitment of Indigenous health liaison officers/Aboriginal liaison officers and Australian Indigenous language interpreters to EDs in Australia.
The College aims to assist with planning the successful incorporation of AHPs into WA EDs and will be reaching out privately to WA Health to arrange participation in the August workshop.
ACEM Reconciliation Action Plan Steering Group Co-Chair Dr Elizabeth Mowatt said, “Aboriginal Health Practitioners (AHPs) hold a unique role in the health system, and the opportunity to work beside AHPs in an emergency department is exciting. By including AHPs as part of an ED team, we are moving closer to ACEM’s vision for Reconciliation and towards a shared national identity that values the rich diversity of our origins, and the contribution that cultural identity makes to health and wellbeing.”
ACEM President Dr Clare Skinner said, “Australia’s emergency doctors collectively envisage a future where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples experience culturally safe emergency care that is self-determined, free from bias and racism, and enhances opportunities for quality health outcomes. We continue to take steps toward towards this goal, and we welcome the establishment of Aboriginal Health Practitioners in Western Australian state-funded public health services in as one more step towards genuine health equity and inclusion in the Australian emergency department and wider health system.”
Background:
ACEM is the peak body for emergency medicine in Australia and New Zealand, responsible for training emergency physicians and advancement of professional standards. www.acem.org.au
