ACEM receives VicHealth award for alcohol abuse and harm

ACEM receives VicHealth award for alcohol abuse and harm in emergency departments research

The peak body for emergency medicine in Australia and New Zealand is thrilled by the news that the College has been recognised with a VicHealth award for its work in the prevention of alcohol related harm.

"Congratulations to FACEM Associate Professor Diana Egerton-Warburton and her team for winning the award for Preventing Harm from Alcohol at the 2017 VicHealth Awards," says ACEM President Dr Simon Judkins.

"The award is recognition of the hard work they have done with The Alcohol Harm Snapshot Survey, exposing the true extent of alcohol abuse and its effect on our communities and health workers – particularly in Australian EDs. It’s made the community pay attention and have a serious discussion about how we address this issue."
"I just think it’s a great credit to the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine to have won the VicHealth award," says Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton. "These awards have been described as the Oscars of health promotion and it’s just so exciting for the College to be winning an Oscar in health promotion.”

Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton said the award was a credit to the many clinicians who had compiled the data in EDs across the country. The fourth Alcohol Harm Snapshot Survey in Australian and New Zealand EDs will take place at 2am (local time), on 16 December 2017.

"This goes to all the ED clinicians who completed those 2am surveys and we are looking forward to a record response in this December’s Snapshot Survey."

"I’d like to acknowledge the incredible efforts of the emergency departments over the past four years to do these surveys at a busy time," says Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton. "These surveys do lead directly to advocacy around the issue and an attempt to influence culture, so I think it’s a very powerful thing for emergency clinicians to do."

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