President’s perspective

I finished my last president’s perspective just a few months ago stating that I was “cautiously optimistic that we will soon see the other side of COVID-19”. Unfortunately, my hope was misplaced, and the last two months have demonstrated that a lot can change in a short space of time. At the time of writing, in much of Australia and New Zealand socialising and travel is being encouraged. In Victoria severe restrictions have been announced and limits on elective surgical procedures reintroduced. On behalf of all Fellows may I pass on our best wishes and support to our Victorian colleagues. The current situation has caused additional anxiety and stress for many, and I encourage you all to continue working together and to seek support services when you need them. However, I am optimistic that we will again be able to get this outbreak under control and begin planning for the post-COVID-19 medical workforce. There have been, and there will continue to be, many important lessons for us to learn that will inform future decision-making. An example of this is the rapid increase in telehealth consultations across Australia since the pandemic began. In our submission to the consultation on stage 5 for specialist items for telehealth, which was drawn up in close consultation with our Rural Surgery Section, we strongly advocated for the lifting of some restrictions in the Medical Benefit Schedule to increase services to patients during COVID-19, and further safeguard the health and safety of our health practitioners. Undoubtedly, even once we have safely navigated our way through the current challenges, advancing and integrating telehealth into health service delivery will remain a high priority. I believe it is essential that the College is ready for this, and that we can provide effective

representation on what we believe the future of telehealth should look like. While I have heard anecdotal reports from many of you, I am keen to develop a better understanding and a more rigorous evidence base to assist us in our advocacy efforts. RACS has, therefore, partnered with John Hunter Hospital and the Hunter Medical Research Institute Newcastle to assess the uptake of telehealth by surgeons and patients across Australia. We will do this via a survey seeking your input. I encourage you to take the short amount of time needed to complete this important survey, as your feedback will be crucial in determining our position. In other news, we continue to advocate on the protection of the title of ‘surgeon’. Professor Mark Ashton, one of our Councillors and a past president of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, has written eloquently on this topic in this issue of Surgical News. I have added my voice to it in an opinion piece and we will continue to do everything we can to highlight the dangerous trend of people using the title ‘surgeon’ and performing surgery despite not having completed the accredited training. After a decision by the COAG Health Council in November last year to look at restricting the title of ‘surgeon’, the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has been tasked with undertaking a regulatory impact statement in relation to this potential change. RACS has spoken with DHHS and has been informed that the department will release a ‘consultation draft’ to stakeholders before the end of 2020. We plan to put forward a strong position in collaboration with our specialty societies, and I will endeavour to keep you informed. New Zealand, and a number of states and territories, will be holding their government elections in the second half of 2020. Before every state, territory and national election we provide an opportunity for political parties to outline their policy positions on key issues. We then distribute the responses to the membership and the wider community. In the past there have been many examples where RACS has been able to secure firm commitments from political parties prior to an election. For example, in the last Northern Territory election we had a written guarantee from the soon-to-be-elected government that they would end the Territory’s unrestricted speed policy. Following the election, one of the government’s first actions was to reintroduce maximum speed limits on the Stuart Highway. Trauma prevention will remain a priority in the lead up to this Northern Territory election, particularly in relation to ensuring that the strong and highly successful alcohol harm reduction legislation that has been implemented over the past four years remains in place. Ahead of New Zealand’s general election on 19 September 2020, RACS’ statement explores political parties’ commitment to the development of a single Electronic Health Record, and also requests for greater certainty around the improvement of the hospital infrastructure to meet the needs of New Zealanders over the next 10 years. In the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the College has used its election statement to advocate for much needed upgrades to the ACT’s education and training facilities. In addition to this, the statement refers to the findings of the Independent Review into the Workplace Culture within ACT Public Health Spaces. To date, none of the recommendations of the review have been implemented, despite it being released in early 2019. Queensland will be the last of the jurisdictions to hold an election this year when they go to the polls at the end of October. The main issue the state committee intends to raise is the delivery of surgical services, especially in regional and rural areas – in particular the local ‘Support Our Surgical Services’ program. This encourages a greater focus on engagement with surgeons, trauma care and a number of specifically targeted programs to improve patient safety and surgical outcomes. As part of the RACS response to COVID-19 we stopped the printed hard copy of Surgical News and have been sending out an electronic version. Many have expressed their disappointment and miss the hard copy. We will be recommencing the previous practice, although if you would prefer not to receive the posted hard copy please notify the editorial team via surgical.news@surgeons.org Stay well and stay safe.

Mr Tony Sparnon President