Improving the patient experience for aboriginal people in the emergency department

The Department of Health commenced the Improving the patient experience for Aboriginal people in the Emergency Department (ED) project in 2007-08 to explore opportunities to improve Aboriginal patient experiences in Victorian EDs.

The final report, released in August 2010, describes the findings of a project in which five Victorian health services undertook local projects to improve the ED experiences of Aboriginal people. The purpose of the report is to share the project outcomes with health services statewide to support local implementation of similar activities.

A key success of the project was the engagement of the Aboriginal community in developing local project initiatives. Activities included:

• building positive relationships with the local Aboriginal community to identify and implement projects to improve patient experiences in the ED
• undertaking environmental improvements to enhance cultural safety in the ED (for example, displaying local artwork, creating a culturally-safe space in the local ED)
• introducing a clinician factsheet to raise the cultural awareness of ED staff and provide guidance on effective communication with Aboriginal patients.

Project oversight was provided by an advisory committee comprised of representatives from the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Aboriginal Health Liaison Officer, Improving Care for Aboriginal Patients Program and the department’s Aboriginal Health Branch and Emergency and Trauma Program.

The strategies, outlined in the report, may assist health services to implement local projects to improve the patient experience for Aboriginal people in their local ED.

A copy of the report is available for download below.

Improving the patient experience for aboriginal people in the emergency department – Final report (335kb, pdf)