The Council is saddened to hear about the death of former Council member and ex-president Dr Greg Kesby.

Dr Kesby was a passionate advocate for the Medical Council and its role in protecting the public and supporting medical professional standards.

His leadership as Council president (2015-18) during a period of significant change delivered important improvements to how the Council manages complaints and engages with doctors who come to the Council’s attention.

The Council extends its deep condolences to his family, friends and medical colleagues.

President's Message

Working as a critical care consultant, I am very aware of the fatigue so many in our profession face as a result of the pandemic. The exhaustion is real and while I thank you all, I strongly encourage you to proactively practice self-care to avoid burnout and minimise the risk to your own health.

This edition features an article about the medical criteria for COVID vaccination exemptions, with valuable insights for how to handle difficult conversations with vaccine-hesitant patients.

It also shares a timely and candid interview with Council member and surgeon, Dr Liz Tompsett, who provides some very practical advice on achieving work/life balance while enjoying a rewarding career in medicine.

Finally, as telehealth continues to be a necessary tool, psychiatrist, Dr Saretta Lee, shares what she has seen work well for patients using telehealth and what this means for the future.

I hope you find this edition helpful and as always, we encourage you to provide feedback to the team at HPCA-MCNSW-CommunicationsTeam@health.nsw.gov.au.

Dr John Sammut

President 
Medical Council of NSW

COVID-19 vaccination exemptions: what's the criteria?

As restrictions ease for fully vaccinated NSW residents, doctors are increasingly facing pressure from some patients to issue COVID-19 vaccination exemptions. When faced with this situation, it is important to remember the criteria for vaccination exemption are limited to a very specific set of medical contraindications.

Balance 101: Insights from surgeon, Dr Liz Tompsett

Dr Liz Tompsett is a Council member and a busy surgeon who has been involved with the Medical Council since 2007. She shared with us her unique insights on giving back to the profession, maintaining work life balance and patient communication, and how she forged a successful career.

Telehealth: a psychiatrist's perspective

When the pandemic hit, it became a priority to embrace telehealth to ensure continuity of care for patients, whilst keeping practitioners safe and healthy. But now, 18 months on, should telehealth be the only way forward or a welcome addition to a suite of consult alternatives?

Psychiatrist and Medical Council member, Dr Saretta Lee, believes the benefit of telehealth lies in how much patients value this is as an option (convenient, safe, flexible), as well as its ability to break down barriers to healthcare. 

Think you know the Doctor's Code of Conduct?

The Medical Board of Australia’s Good Medical Practice: A Code of Conduct for Doctors in Australia sets the standard for the profession. Confident you are across it? Test your knowledge with a few common ethical questions doctors face, such as...

What does the Code say about providing care for those close to you?
(a)   If it’s agreed by both parties, then it’s fine to proceed.
(b)   It should be avoided wherever possible when there is a close personal relationship.
(c)   It’s OK if it’s unavoidable, for example, in an emergency.
(d)   It’s OK if you remember to make notes.

Spotlight on: health assessors

Complaints to the Council about doctors generally fall into one of three categories - health, performance or conduct.

When assessing a practitioner who may be impaired, the Council engages a health assessor. All assessors are registered health practitioners, appointed by Council, for their knowledge of a particular specialty or subspecialty. Often health assessors are psychiatrists or clinical psychologists.

Their role is to make an independent assessment about whether a doctor is impaired, the extent and nature of the practitioner's impairment and whether any impairment will impact on their ability to practise medicine safely. The health assessor will also assess whether participation in the health program is appropriate. The assessment undertaken is medico-legal rather than a therapeutic consultation.

If a doctor is deemed to be impaired, they are recommended to join the health program. The health program is constructive, non-disciplinary, and aims to work with the practitioner to ensure their health impairment is assessed and treated. This approach has an end goal of assisting the practitioner to return to work in a safe manner, for their own personal health and that of their patients.

Should a practitioner enter the health program, they will generally see the same health assessor for periodic review and oversight of progress.

The reports and recommendations prepared health assessors are used by the Council to determine further action, if required. Health assessors do not have the power to make the final determination of whether conditions or suspension are applied to practitioners.

Meet our new Council members

It is our pleasure to introduce four new Council members who joined us in July:

Dr Laura Ahmad is the Royal Australasian College of Physicians nominee. Dr Ahmad is a geriatrician and has extensive experience in teaching in the fields of geriatric care and rehabilitation and integrated clinical care.

Dr Amanda Mead is the community member on the NSW Board of the Medical Board of Australia. She has a PhD in organisational change and is involved with committees in the disability and child sector.

Dr Nicole Phillips is the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists nominee. She is the Director of Medical Services at Concord Rehabilitation General Hospital and has experience in clinical governance, accreditation and supervision of students. 

Mrs Annette Ruhotas-Morgan is a consultant with a diverse career spanning corporate, not-for-profit and voluntary sectors. She is a health consumer representative on various health committees and an experienced board member.

Special thanks to our outgoing Council members for their hard work and dedication over the years. Thank you Dr Alix Magney, Ms Frances Taylor, former President Dr Richard Walsh for your time on Council — and to Dr Stephen Buckley, who is also leaving Council but continues to work with us as Chair of a general committee.

See our full list of Council members.

News bites 

Ahpra position statement on sexism, harassment and violence

Ahpra and the National Boards have released a joint statement reminding practitioners that there is no place for sexism, sexual harassment or gendered violence in healthcare.

The statement explicitly reinforces:

• The important role doctors have in building and maintaining a culture of respect in healthcare. Ahpra and the National Boards encourage speaking up about disrespectful behaviour and unprofessional conduct to support a safer healthcare system for everyone.
• Unprofessional conduct, including sexual harassment or assault is contrary to the National Boards’ codes of conduct (or equivalent).

For more information, view the statement here.

Common factors for doctors at risk of complaints, malpractice claims or impaired performance

New research has revealed that while no single factor makes a doctor more likely than another to be the subject of complaint, there are 23 demographic or workplace related factors that do increase the risk.

The research, led by Macquarie University in collaboration with the Medical Council of New South Wales, indicates that being an older male, with more years spent in practice and a larger number of patients is associated with a higher risk of malpractice claims or complaint.

These insights enable regulators to provide additional support to high risk groups, ideally before it is necessary to impose restrictions on them. It will also provide medical practitioners with the ability to identify their own risk factors more accurately so they can remain alert to potential issues.

Read more about the research.

New vaping/e-cigarette legislation introduced

Since 1 October 2021, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) requires consumers to have a prescription if they wish to purchase vaping products containing nicotine.

If a doctor considers prescribing nicotine containing e-cigarettes the most clinically appropriate approach for smoking cessation, they can prescribe it by:

• Becoming an ‘Authorised Prescriber’ under the Authorised Prescriber Scheme. 
• Obtaining approval under the Special Access Scheme. 
• Providing a prescription under the Personal Importation Scheme.

Read more

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