ACEM - Policies and Regulations

22 Aug 2023

Policy on Organ and Tissue Donation

This Policy outlines the responsibilities of emergency physicians within the organ and tissue donation process. The principles accord with the Best Practice Guideline for Offering Organ and Tissue Donation in Australia. The Policy does not give clinical advice on donor identification, management or assessment for medical suitability.

01 Nov 2023

Policy on Heatwave Preparedness for EDs and EM Systems

This Policy relates to the preparation, readiness and responsiveness of emergency departments and emergency medicine systems to environmental heatwaves and extreme heat events.

22 Jul 2022

Policy on a Quality Framework for Emergency Departments

A quality culture is fundamental to providing the highest standard of care in EDs. As part of its leadership role ACEM has developed Quality Standards that are applicable to emergency medicine at all levels in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

01 Dec 2019

Policy on Patient Rights to Access Emergency Department Care

Any individual with symptoms that lead them to believe that they have an injury or illness that could place their health in jeopardy, or lead to an impairment of their quality of life has the right to attend an ED. For the homeless and disadvantaged, the ED may be the only point through which they can access healthcare after hours.

01 Oct 2020

Policy on Emergency Department Disaster Preparedness and Response

This Policy provides general principles and adopts an all-hazards approach that is applicable to sudden onset events with health impacts that may overwhelm the innate capacity and resources of the ED to cope. This may range from multiple casualty incidents to natural disasters to public health emergencies.

01 Nov 2020

Policy on Forensic Testing and Examination in EDs

The primary focus of an ED is the delivery of emergency medical care to the acutely ill and injured. Emergency clinical care takes precedent over forensic considerations. As forensic evidence is not a core ED activity, there should be arrangements for seeking advice from a local forensic service.

01 Jul 2020

Policy on Early Access to Defibrillation for Cardiac Arrest

This document relates to the adequate provision for early access to defibrillation of sudden cardiac arrest within healthcare institutions and in public settings.

01 Apr 2020

Policy on the Care of Older Persons in the Emergency Department

This Policy relates to recommended standards of care for older persons in the ED. It has been developed in consultation with and endorsed by the Australian and New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine. Older persons have the right to high quality, timely, person-centred acute care in the setting that best meets their needs and wishes.

01 Dec 2019

Policy on the Supervision of Junior Medical Staff in the ED

To ensure adequate experience in generalist medicine, junior doctors must be exposed to a wide spectrum of acute and undifferentiated illness. This is best obtained by a period of training in emergency medicine. The complex nature of emergency medical care means that junior doctors need extensive support/oversight to function safely.

01 May 2020

Policy on End of Life and Palliative Care in the Emergency Department

This Policy aims to promote discussion and awareness of end-of-life care (EoLC) planning, and to ensure that emergency department (ED) staff are confident in providing quality EoLC. The Policy also describes ED systems and processes for recognising and appropriately caring for patients at the end of life (EoL).