Monthly media digest: June/July 2022

27 July 2022

A digest of college news coverage for June/July 2022

IV infusions 

ANZCA Vice-President Professor David Story was interviewed by the Herald Sun in his role as head of the Department of Critical Care at the University of Melbourne for a 27 July article about  IV infusions and the dangers to patients if not administered by trained clinicians or specialists.

Epidural kit shortage

ANZCA's Safety and Quality chair A/Professor Joanna Sutherland was interviewed on ABC Radio Melbourne's morning program on 25 July by host Virginia Trioli about the global epidural kit shortage and its impact on Australian hospitals. 

Audio "grabs" of the interview also featured in ABC Radio morning news bulletins.  

The interview followed comments by A/Prof Sutherland in an article published in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald in print and online about the shortage.

In New Zealand, fellow Dr Matt Drake was interviewed by stuff.co.nz. He  said there was no kit shortage in New Zealand hospitals.
 
The combined media coverage in Australia and New Zealand reached more than a million people.  

ICU exit blocks

FANZCA Associate Professor Craig French, director of Intensive Care at Western Health in Melbourne was interviewed for an article in The Age on 24 July about the pressures on the health system and how it affects ICU patients.

He confirmed there had been instances at the Footscray and Sunshine hospitals in recent weeks where patients who no longer needed intensive care had been kept in the unit until they were ready to be discharged home.

Anaesthesia and surgery after COVID

The Director of Anaesthesia at Royal Hobart Hospital Dr Ruth Matters was interviewed on ABC Radio Hobart's breakfast program on 28 June.

In a six minute segment Dr Matters explained why elective surgery is postponed for up to eight weeks after a COVID diagnosis because of complications that may arise.

The Chloroformist -- interview on ABC Radio with Dr Christine Ball
 

Dr Ball was interviewed for ABC Radio's Conversations segment with host Richard Fidler on 21 June about her book The Chloroformist and Dr Joseph Clover.

The 50 minute segment was syndicated to 41 ABC radio stations across Australia and reached an audience of more than 500,000 people.