General matters
- On 8 December 2011, the Annual Report of the Medical Council of NSW for the year ending 30 June 2011 was submitted to Parliament by the Minister for Health, the Hon Jillian Skinner, MP. This is the first report of the Medical Council of NSW, which came into existence on 1 July 2010 with the introduction of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for health professionals and the commencement of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW) No. 86a. On 30 June 2010, the NSW Medical Board ceased to exist and responsibility for the registration of medical practitioners passed to the Medical Board of Australia.
- Gastrointestinal endoscopy - licensing requirements. Click here for information regarding the Regulations which came into effect on 1 March 2010, and which provide that premises in which gastrointestinal endoscopy is undertaken are required to be licensed. The Regulation also sets out licensing standards for eighteen classes of facilities including Anaesthesia class, Interventional Neuroradiology class, Radiotherapy class and Rapid Opioid Detoxification class.
- National Hand Hygiene Initiative: The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has developed a program for achieving high compliance with hand hygiene as defined by World Health Organisation standards. The initiative will be coordinated by NSW Department of Health and a rigorous education and training program in the 5 moments process will be implemented by Hand Hygiene Australia across all public and private hospitals in order to reduce healthcare and opportunity costs associated with Staphylococcus Aureus bacteraemia. For further information and a wide selection of educational and promotional material, go to: www.hha.org.au
- Bogus Doctor Hoax Telephone Calls
- Fatigue management - suggested approaches for teams and hospital systems: Kay Wilhelm
National registration
The commencement of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme on 1 July 2010, with the enactment of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW), means that there is now one National Board setting standards and policies for the regulation of medical practitioners and for each of the nine other health professions that are included in the new legislation. The Medical Board of Australia is supported in this task by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
The Medical Council of NSW (the Council) was established on 1 July 2010 with the abolition of the NSW Medical Board. The Council is responsible for dealing with complaints about the conduct, professional performance and health of doctors. In NSW, complaints continue to be handled in a co-regulatory model with the Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC) which has an integral role in the investigation and prosecution of disciplinary matters.
Further details regarding the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme for Health Professions. Read More
