New Health & Safety resource

Attention Anaesthetists working in Private Hospitals: Did you know that you are a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) with obligations to comply with new health and safety regulations that you cannot insure against or opt out of? The Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) 2015 shifts the focus from solely monitoring and recording health and safety incidents to proactively identifying, preventing and managing risks to safeguard the health and safety of any person.

The NZSA has developed a new resource for members – NZSA Health & Safety manual – to help you comply with the Act, and avoid incurring significant fines. This comprehensive resource includes basic instructions for using the manual, an online educational component with two short videos, links to key websites with H & S information, and a hazard register.
The manual has NZSA copyright. NZSA members are welcome to download and use all the forms provided. You can also add your logo to the left hand header, but please note that any other changes you wish to make need NZSA authorisation.
The Health and Safety page contains two documents for members:

• The complete Health and Safety Manual – each section outlines requirements and the manual contains tutorials and forms to comply with the legislation.
• The condensed version of the Health and Safety Manual – this is designed for very small organisations and includes the minimum requirements under the HSWA.

We welcome any questions you may have on health and safety. You can contact us on nzsa@anaesthesia.nz or 04 494-0124.

NZSA Forum - register today

If you are an anaesthetist working in a private hospital you are considered a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) with obligations under new health and safety legislation that you cannot insure against or opt out of.  Find out about PCBUs and how you can mitigate your risk at the NZSA's upcoming forum. H & S consultant Keith Robinson will be presenting on this topic. 

A full range of issues impacting your private and public practice will be covered. ACC has rolled over the Elective Services contract, how does this affect  you in private practice?  How do you respond to a fixed pricing contract when it's presented to you by a private hospital? Speakers include barrister Hanne Janes who will talk about the Commerce Act and how it may affect the structure and functioning of your private practice. Hanne has been working with anaesthetists for the last 15 years, following a Commerce Commission investigation of Auckland practices. 

‘'Behind the Scenes: A Forum Covering National Issues That Impact On Your Practice” will be held on Saturday 30 July at the University of Auckland (9.00am-1.00pm). 

This is also a fantastic opportunity to connect with the NZSA Executive. Attendees will also be updated on the Medicines Act review, privacy issues, e-prescribing, training of assistants to the anaesthetist and more. The registration fee is heavily discounted for NZSA members. Breakfast and coffee will be included. If you have any questions regarding registration please email membership@anaesthesia.nz. View the full programme here.

In the Media

Release of individual surgeon data
Ombudsman Professor Ron Paterson has released a report upholding the refusal of five DHBs to provide a journalist with data on individual surgeons, including data on major complications, readmissions and deaths. Health Quality and Safety Commission Chair Professor Alan Merry was interviewed on Radio NZ regarding the Commission's stance on releasing data on individual surgeons. He said it would be statistically unsound and a better approach would be to provide public information at a team or unit, rather than individual level. 

"[Results] certainly depend on surgeons without doubt but it also depends on the anaesthetist, it depends on the intensive care specialists, it depends on the nursing staff that actually underpin the work on the wards of looking after the patients. And frankly it depends on the hospital management's willingness to actually support the team with the resources that are needed."  

Dunedin anaesthetist's actions to address climate change
Dunedin anaesthetist Dr Matt Jenks is minimising his carbon footprint by powering his Toyota truck with leftover vegetable oil. Jenks is a member of  Ora Taio, a group of health professionals concerned with climate change. He has also actively reduced his travel commitments and consumption of milk and meat. "As a doctor I am concerned about the impact of climate change on health, so I want to do my bit." Read more on STUFF

Vacancies

The NZSA regularly posts vacancies on its website, for positions in New Zealand and overseas. We now have new roles on our website.

Joint NZSA & ANZCA NZNC meeting

The NZSA and ANZCA NZNC held their joint annual meeting on Friday 24 June. Key issues discussed included the anaesthesia workforce, with discussion focused on the key issue which remains maldistribution, training for assistants to the anaesthetist, and sedation training for endoscopy. Representatives from the Ministry of Health attended the meeting and provided an update on the Therapeutic Products Bill (replacing the Medicines Act 1981). An exposure draft will be released later this year for comment and information provided to stakeholders ahead of time for input.

NZSA Executive meeting

The NZSA Executive met 24-25 June. There was a diversity of issues discussed impacting the specialty and patient safety, including:

Bowel screening endoscopy: A training programme is underway to increase endoscopy services to enable the eventual national roll-out of bowel screening, following the pilot at Waitemata DHB. The NZSA will be involved in the sedation training component.
NZSA Behind the Scenes Forum: The organisation and promotion for the Auckland forum is well underway and is an excellent opportunity for members to receive updates on issues affecting their practice, including new Health & Safety legislation.Other issues to be covered will include the Registered Nurse to the Anaesthetist Course, e-prescribing and ACC developments. A condensed version of this forum will be presented for members at the Annual Update in Anaesthesia (AQUA) in August.
Anaesthetic Technicians: NZSA will attend a meeting in July hosted by the Medical Services Council to discuss AT scope of practice and education.

Part 3 course

The Part 3 one day course is designed for advanced trainees and will feature workshops, small group discussions and interactive presentations.

Kathryn Hagen (NZSA Executive member) who attended the inaugural Part 3 course held at Ko Awatea in 2011 says it was a great opportunity to meet other trainees without the stresses of exams hanging over them."What I particularly liked about it was the chance to ask questions and get information about what life after training is like - a chance to see the different directions a FANZCA can take you and also some tips on how to acquire that sought after consultant position.  If you are post Part 2 and now have the head space to think and plan for the future, I highly recommend the meeting."

When: 19 November
Where: Waipuna Hotel in Auckland.

Places are limited to 24 to ensure participants gain optimal value. You can register here and check out course speakers and facilitators. The NZSA is now hosting the Part 3 course, which was previously run by NZSA and the New Zealand National Committee of ANZCA.

Maternity Clinical Information System

NZSA CEO Renu Borst had a very positive meeting with MOH representatives to discuss the concerns of anaesthetists in relation to the Maternity Clinical Information System (MCIS). She said patient safety was a major issue. Concerns had been flagged for some time, most recently at the last meeting of the National Obstetrics Anaesthesia Network. New Programme Manager of MCIS Andrew Inder said MOH was committed to ensuring the system meets the needs of clinicians and was seeking clinicians' input. MOH was now working with the five DHBs that have the MCIS to find out what they need to make the system work e.g. extra resources. For now the future rollout of MCIS to other DHBs is on hold until the issues are resolved. Ms Borst said she would send Mr Inder the list of concerns identified by anaesthetists about the MCIS. She also emphasised that anaesthetists are involved in pre and postoperative care so it was important to avoid silos within the system. Meetings on the MCIS will be ongoing. Also attending the meeting was the Acting Chief Medical Officer Andrew Simpson and Bronwen Pelvin, Principal Advisor Protection and Regulations.

Privacy protection for health practitioners

Buddle Findaly have provided a legal update on privacy protection for health practitioners. The Ombudsman has released an opinion upholding the Health and Disability Commissioner's (HDC's) decision to withhold information about a midwife's complaint history, following an Official Information Act request from a journalist. The HDC declined the request on the basis that the need to protect the midwife's privacy outweighed the public interest in disclosure (section 9(2)(a) of the OIA). The Ombudsman has developed general principles which may provide useful guidance to organisations (such as the HDC and DHBs) if faced with similar requests in future. Read here

ACE News

The Anaesthesia Continuing Education Co-ordinating Committee (ACE) encourages members convening conferences, workshops or meetings that assist ongoing CPD requirements, to add their event to the ACE website.  The parent groups, NZSA, ANZCA and ASA, host the site as part of the tripartite committee. Learn more about the many CPD opportunities available on the website 

Events on NZSA website

Here's a selection of upcoming events. For the full list of events visit the NZSA website. For NZ events click here and for international events here

Annual Queenstown Update in Anaesthesia
The Annual Queenstown Update in Anaesthesia (AQUA) is taking place 18-20 August at the Millennium Hotel. Hear the latest about anaesthetic practice, meet up with colleagues and enjoy all that Queenstown has to offer, from skiing to iconic views. Associate Professor Bernhard Riedel, from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, is the international speaker.  His research includes the impact of anaesthesia on long-term outcomes following cancer surgery, preoperative risk stratification and preoperative optimisation through prehabilitation. The scientific programme will feature a broad range of clinically focused updates, and there will be a conference dinner and AQUA BBQ, followed by the Bledisloe rugby. This year AQUA is also running an Anaphylaxis Emergency Response Workshop and an NZSA medicolegal focused forum on Saturday morning, which will be a summary of the NZSA 30 July Auckland forum mentioned earlier in the E-zine.

ASA National Scientific Congress
Registrations are open for the ASA 75th National Scientific Congress, 17-20 September in Melbourne. For information, including the full programme, visit www.asa2016.com.au  Speakers include: Carolyn Canfield (Canada’s 2014 patient safety champion); Adjunct A/Professor David Canty from Royal Melbourne Hospital, an expert in point of care echocardiography; Professor Olle Ljungqvist Professor of Surgery at Örebro University Hospital,  and an expert in Enhanced Recovery after Surgery; and Professor Stanton Newman, Dean from the School of Health Sciences at City University in London, an expert on the impact of surgery and other treatments on the brain.

ASURA 2017 Noosa, Queensland
(ASURA) Australasian Symposium on Ultrasound and Regional Anaesthesia (23-26 February 2017) will combine both regional anaesthesia and education themes. This combination will be valuable for both faculty and delegates. The programme is a mix of plenary talks, concurrent sessions and workshops. More information on registration, programme and speakers here

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