Rockingham General Hospital Emergency Department wins big at Australian College of Emergency Medicine awards

Rockingham General Hospital’s emergency department has taken out two national Australian College of Emergency Medicine awards. Head of department ED Asheila Narang said it was an honour to take out the Wellbeing Award and Diversity and Inclusion Award. “To win one award is great, to win two is amazing,” Ms Narang said. “With the time limitations we have in ED and being a small hospital, I feel really proud that our ED has won and has been recognised for the great work being done.” The ACEM Wellbeing Award recognises those who are proactively putting in place a well-considered strategy to encourage and promote the physical and mental health of staff. Rockingham’s ED was recognised for the positive impact its monthly newsletter had on the department by welcoming new staff, celebrating team success, and providing links to useful resources and area updates. The Diversity and Inclusion Award celebrates and promotes the principles of diversity that RGH ED put into practice by designing and delivering a practical cultural competency workshop in partnership with local Aboriginal Elders and the South Metropolitan Health Service Aboriginal health strategy team. “The workshop was so successful that we then extended it to create a cultural safety working group that meets monthly,” Ms Narang said. “This has resulted in many changes with a positive impact on the local community, our patients, family and staff.” Some of the changes include safe and culturally appropriate signage in ED, new culturally designed scrubs and lanyards, an appropriate space for Aboriginal health liaison officer reviews, additional literacy and education for patients and staff, and building relationships with the community and mental health partners. “It’s great to be acknowledged on a national level for the hard work we are all doing to improve the environment we are in for our colleagues, patients, families and visitors,” Ms Narang said. “I feel like we are engaged as a team, focused on providing excellent patient-centred care and supporting one another, and these wins really highlight that.”