Al Spilman Award for Cultural Safety Initiatives in an Emergency Department

FND612 V5.1

The Al Spilman Award for Cultural Safety Initiatives in an Emergency Department was established in 2018 following a generous donation by Mr Al Spilman. The award highlights the importance of cultural safety to improve health outcomes for Australian and New Zealand Indigenous communities. The award recognises a significant step taken towards cultural safety by an emergency department. ACEM acknowledges that cultural safety is a journey of many steps.

2.1 Nature of award

The scoring criteria for the award recognises that EDs might be on different stages of their journey to cultural safety: Emerging, Achieving and Exceeding. The award is open once per year in line with the New Zealand Matariki, and Australian NAIDOC Week to eligible emergency departments (EDs). If an ED has previously won the award, there is a stand down period of two years before they can apply for the award again.

2.2 Eligibility criteria

The award is open to an ACEM accredited emergency department from either Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand. All members or trainees, including those enrolled in the FACEM Training Program, as well as the Associateship in Foundational Emergency Medicine, Associateship in Intermediate Emergency Medicine or Associateship in Advanced Emergency Medicine and Associateship in PHRM and Specialist International Medical Graduate trainees, of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM/the College) are eligible to nominate an emergency department for the award.

Nominating members and trainees must be of good standing with the College.

2.3 Nominations

Eligible persons interested in nominating an emergency department for the award should complete the appropriate application form and submit it, together with the documentation specified therein, to the ACEM Foundation within the advertised timeframe.

2.4 Selection process

A panel of three (3) or more assessors convened by the Indigenous Health Committee shall adjudicate the nominations and recommend to the ACEM Foundation an emergency department for the award, based on the following criteria:

The emergency department’s initiative demonstrates:

• collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, or Māori peoples within the health service or community
• culturally safe practice that focuses on the experience of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and/or Māori patients and carers receiving emergency care
• culturally safe practice that focuses on the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, or Māori staff in the emergency department
• sustainability and capacity building
• that it includes evaluation and measures impact

The ACEM Board shall determine the emergency department recipient of the award. The decision of the ACEM Board will be final and no correspondence will be entered in to.

All parts of the selection process must be conducted in accordance with the College Conflict of Interest Policy (COR139).

2.5 Acknowledgement of award

The award consists of Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), or Manaaki Mana artwork and accompanying explanatory plaque detailing the award, the artist(s) and artwork artistic explanation.

Emergency departments who are successful in satisfying the criteria will be acknowledged at the annual ACEM College Ceremony in the year the award is made.

2.6 Publication of the award

The ACEM Foundation may publish the name of the emergency department recipient to promote the award and raise the profile of the ACEM Foundation.

• AP613 Al Spilman Award for Culturally Safe Emergency Departments Application Form
• COR139 Conflict of Interest Policy