Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, with their histories of colonisation and ongoing systemic racism, violence and inequities against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Māori, are not insulated from or immune to many of the same deep-rooted issues.
It is pressing on all of us to examine our own roles, the parts we play in these systems and how we can contribute to genuine change for the better.
In this context, the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine reaffirms its commitment to equity and equality in healthcare across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Our hospital emergency departments must be open, fair and accessible to all. There is no place for racism. Everybody has a right to healthcare.
We still have much to do and learn.
Informed by the values and objectives of its Reconciliation Action Plan, ACEM continues working towards the vision that Australian emergency departments deliver quality, acute healthcare that is culturally safe, resulting in health equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
Through its Te Rautaki Manaaki Mana Excellence in Emergency Care for Māori, ACEM commits to its part in ensuring Emergency departments in Aotearoa New Zealand will embody Pae Ora, providing excellent, culturally safe care to Māori, in an environment where Māori patients, whānau and staff feel valued, and where leaders actively seek to eliminate inequities.
ACEM will also shortly be seeking support from FACEMs on a special resolution to include a new Object in the College Constitution; to explicitly state the College’s commitment to excellence and equity in emergency care for Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Māori in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
This is an important step for the College, and it builds on work undertaken over the past decade to improve cultural safety and partner with First Nations peoples to address health inequities.
None of this is work is straightforward or easy. It requires genuine and ongoing commitment; for all of us to act, and ask the difficult questions of ourselves in relation to our own roles and contributions.
It is challenging, confronting and it can be uncomfortable, but if we are to achieve equity and equality that we aspire to, it is work that must be done.
Dr John Bonning
ACEM President