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RACS leadership
President’s perspective Due to the lockdowns across Victoria, the February meeting of Council was held predominantly outside Melbourne for the first time in the history of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS). Our brand new South Australian office was the meeting point for the majority of the Councillors, with small hubs in our offices in Wellington, Melbourne and Sydney, where others assembled to join the meeting. While we have held many face-to-face meetings over the years and have also become accustomed to virtual meetings, the hybrid approach used for this Council meeting was another first. Arranging the logistics of this, particularly at such short
notice, was no small feat and I would like to thank the many people, especially staff in Melbourne and Adelaide, who ensured that the meeting ran smoothly. At the meeting, elections were held for office-bearing positions. Congratulations to Dr Sally Langley who will be the next RACS President, and to Dr Lawrie Malisano who will take on the role of vice president. Sally and Lawrie will commence their leadership roles during the RACS Annual Scientific Congress (ASC) in May. During the meeting, the RACS Business Plan for 2021 was approved. This includes information on the planned upgrades to the Spring Street offices in Melbourne.
The previously approved plans agreed on before the onset of COVID-19 have been put on hold and our position needs to be reassessed. Many of our Melbourne staff have begun returning to work, but we expect the working environment to look significantly different to 18 months ago. As such, Council has decided to re-evaluate the whole project and we expect that any new proposals will differ significantly from what was originally envisaged. The meeting also saw the renaming of various boards and committees, and the establishment of a new Health Policy and Advocacy Committee (HPAC). The New Zealand National Board will
