Doctorsโ Defend St Vincent’s Hospital Emergencyโข Department Triage Policyโข Amidst Political Debate
Melbourne, โVIC – Medical professionals are defending a triageโฃ policy at St Vincent’sโ Hospital in Melbourne, arguing it represents progress in “closing the gap” in healthcare access for First Nations people, asโ a political dispute over the initiativeโค intensifies. The policy, which prioritises First Nations patients โคwithin the category three wait time bracket, has drawn โcriticism from the Liberal and Nationals coalition, while โคhealth experts maintain โit is ethically sound and addresses systemic disadvantages.
Former nurse ie Crozier described the policy as “divisive” but stated itโ does “notโ contraveneโข long standing โฃmultiple medical and nursing codes ofโ conduct, and medical โethical considerations”. โฃShe emphasized, “The triaging ofโฃ patients should be based on medical need, not based on race.”
The Liberal and Nationals coalition claims Labor has neglected community and primary healthcare, positioning thierโค own approach as a solution for better health outcomes forโ all Victorians, includingโข Indigenous communities.
However,a Victorian government spokesperson countered that emergency departments always prioritise the sickest โpatients,addingโค that St Vincent’s EDโค team has “done โคremarkable โขwork to close the gap โin category three wait times โค- the difference between First Nations patients and other patients isโข now just four minutes.”
Abe Ropitini,โค Population Health Executive director at the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO) and a proud Mฤori and Palawa man, expressed disappointment that politicians are “using thisโ issue as a โคpolitical football.” โHe asserted,โ “It is indeed a โbasic expectation of our health system thatโค everybody is entitled to equitable โoutcomes.”
Ropitini explained that โequitable outcomes require acknowledging that โคFirst nations people often face disadvantages when accessing healthcare, โstating, “Access to healthcare is a 50-metreโข race and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are starting 100 metres behindโค the startโ line.” He also noted that VACCHO has received numerous concerns from โthe community regarding the divisive nature of the debate, notably given ongoingโ efforts to create โขmoreโฃ welcoming โขhealth spaces for First Nations people.