Indigenous Health & Cultural Safety

St Vincent’s is the largest provider of metropolitan health services for adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Victoria.

Health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres St Islander people are worse than for non-Indigenous Australians, and some Indigenous Australians have very negative experiences when they attend hospitals and EDs

Many barriers exist for Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples to accessing care in EDs, and many patients leave before their care is completed. St Vincent’s aims to welcome these patients, expedite care and offer both early treatment and referral to AHLOs, particularly from the waiting room.

Please treat all patients with a person-centred trauma-informed approach.

Our ED strives to deliver culturally safe care and equity of outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Is patients.

Resources

• Ensure you complete the mandatory online Cultural Safety Training Module

• For trainees, there are also mandatory (and helpful) ACEM Modules to complete

• A SVHM Reconciliation Action Plan is available to read here https://www.svha.org.au/ArticleDocuments/3007/SVHA_RAP_2020.pdf.aspx?embed=y

• There is a multi-disciplinary ED Indigenous Health Equity Working Group, see ED intranet for further resources, and details on joining the working group

• There is a fantastic team of Aboriginal Health Liaison Officers (AHLOs) available for consult by ED staff

  • Referrals are made via pager #980

  • Please ensure the patient consents to the referral, and you have a reason for referral (eg cultural safety) - the service is not to be used in relation to an immediate code grey, or for solely ALERT/social work related issues

• The ALERT team also have strong links with the Aboriginal community through outreach and partnership programs