Safety and Quality update - November
New this month: Safety Alert – Residual anaesthetic drugs & IV infusions; TGA announcement re risk of OD of LA cream for babies; Blood Matters Patient ID & pretransfusion checking audit report; ACSQHC National Sepsis Program; World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week (18–24 Nov); CHF health care survey
New Safety and Quality Committee (SQC) members
Ahead of the December meeting of the Safety and Quality Committee, we are excited to welcome two new members who were recently appointed by ANZCA Council.
Dr Pravin Dahal is based in Burnie and is currently the Safety and Quality Officer for the ANZCA Tasmanian Regional Committee.
Dr Tessa Finney-Brown is based in Cairns and has a special interest in obstetric anaesthesia in addition to safety and quality matters.
Dr Dahal and Dr Finney-Brown will bring perspectives to the committee from regions not currently represented amongst the membership. Consideration of the ever expanding and diverse safety and quality experiences and needs of anaesthetists and their patients in regional health care settings will be greatly enhanced through their contributions.
Risk of local anaesthetic cream overdose in babies
In October, the Therapeutic Goods Administration announced it had investigated two serious adverse event cases in young babies who had EMLA cream applied.
New Blood Matters audit report re patient ID and pretransfusion checking
Blood Matters has recently published on its audits report webpage: ‘Blood Matters Positive patient identification and pretransfusion checking procedure audit report 2025’.
ACSQHC National Sepsis Program
New resources to support a new Model of Care Framework for care coordination and post-sepsis support have been added to the Commission’s National Sepsis Program webpage.
World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week (WAAW)
Each year, from 18 to 24 November, the global campaign, World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week, is held to raise awareness and promote best practices of AMR to reduce the emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections. Learn more about the resources and initiatives of the ACSQHC to support for WAAW in Australia
Findings from the 2024 National Consumer Sentiment Survey
In 2024, the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) conducted a survey to better understand how Australians feel about the healthcare system and their experiences with it.
The latest National Consumer Sentiment Survey (NCSS) presents a snapshot of Australians’ experiences with and expectations of our healthcare system in 2024.
