by CRYSTAL-ROSE JONES – ABORIGINAL patients presenting to Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital are given a “category 3” priority, meaning they must be treated within 30 minutes.
Former nurse and now-shadow Victorian health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier has called hospital rules designed to prioritise Indigenous emergency patients divisive.
- Triaging is about risk assessment and decisions have to be made very quickly.
- It should be made on the health needs of the individual that presents.
- Hospital says the policy has improved outcomes for Indigenous patients.
Recent reports revealed that the inner-city hospital issued a staff directive in April 2024 to fast-track care for all Indigenous patients presented to the emergency department.
The hospital says the changes were introduced to address gaps in Indigenous treatments, but Ms Crozier says triaging should be based on “health and medical needs, not based on the colour of your skin or race”.
RISK
“Triaging is about risk assessment and decisions have to be made very quickly,” she told The Epoch Times.
“It should be made on the health needs of the individual that presents.
“Of course, Indigenous status needs to be a part of that risk assessment, but it shouldn’t be the sole criteria that somebody is seen based on the colour of their skin and race.”
St Vincent’s was nominated for the Victorian Public Healthcare Award specifically for the initiative, which noted: “First Nations patients are now seen more promptly than non-Indigenous patients.”
It’s not the first time the hospital has been awarded for such measures.
In 2022, the hospital introduced a range of measures to make the emergency department more “culturally safe”, including adding Indigenous flags that would pop up when a patient’s name was entered in, a prominent Indigenous “welcome sign”, and an Acknowledgement of Country on display.
The measures, which also included fast-tracking treatment of Indigenous patients, won the hospital the Al Spilman award for Culturally Safe Emergency Departments.
Ms Crozier said the legislated directive to prioritise race was indicative of what Victorians could come to expect if the Indigenous Treaty and “Voice” are fully implemented.
“We don’t want more division in this State, and what we’ve seen through this policy, which the government has endorsed by the awards that have been announced … shows the extent of the division and how everyday Victorians represent to emergency departments will be missing out on care,” she said.
She said St Vincent’s was falling behind with its response time.
A spokesperson for St Vincent’s, however, said the policy had improved outcomes for Indigenous patients.
“St Vincent’s approach aligns with the National Safety & Quality Health Service standards that underpin Australia’s healthcare system, as well as Closing the Gap recommendations, both of which require health services to be culturally safe, accessible and responsive to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their needs,” the spokesperson said.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has defended the hospital’s stance.
“First peoples aren’t being treated as quickly as they need to be,” she told a media conference on October 29.
“The issue that is being addressed here is recognising that First Peoples have poorer outcomes, First Peoples have been waiting … longer to be treated.”
When questioned over the ethics of triaging by race, Allan again referred to Indigenous treatment outcomes.
“There has been some disadvantage in that Indigenous people haven’t been getting treated in that spirit of treating the sickest patients quickest,” she said.PC
Racism pure and simple, call it out…