For most Canberrans the drive up to Sydney is a familiar journey. Along the way you pass a couple major attractions (think Gungahlin and Goulburn) but by the time you pass the McDonald’s at Sutton Forest most of us are asking ourselves, “Are we there yet?” Sadly you’re not, you still have about another 97km before you reach the M5 and experience what life is really like being a Sydneysider.

“Pelvic devices developed in Australia from the 1980s and 1990s are at the centre of a global medical scandal that includes regulatory failure, and allegations of research fraud and experimental surgery on women in multiple countries.” Sydney Morning Herald

Mental Health Front and Centre

AMA (ACT) President, Prof Steve Robson and ACT Chair of the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, A/Prof Jeff Looi, have met with Mental Health Minister, Shane Rattenbury, to lay out their shared concerns about the state of the psychiatry workforce and other mental health issues in the ACT.

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By Prof Steve Robson*

Dr Kieran Barr is a RMO currently working in MAPU at Calvary Hospital. He is a graduate of ANU (Medicine & Surgery - 2015) and University of Melbourne (Biomedicine – 2010). Dr Barr once had the privilege of holding Roger Federer’s sweaty towel when he worked as a ballkid at the Australian Open. He is also a former tractor driver, telemarketer, waiter and wardsman.

Garry Walter* and Sarah Foster*

What a fabulous article about doctors’ health by Dr Louise Stone (‘A GPs Open Letter to Young Doctors’) in last month’s issue of Canberra Doctor, imploring young doctors to have their own GP. That message resonates with a key piece of advice invariably given by the Doctors’ Health Advisory Service NSW & ACT (DHAS) to callers of our service: regardless of career stage, having one’s own GP is a plank for current and future health care needs.  

Health System Reform Needs Medical Leadership

Prof Brendan Murphy* is the Chief Medical Officer for the Australian Government

One of the reasons I took on the job of Chief Medical Officer and, before that, a Health Service CEO role, was a view that health system reform is critically dependent on good medical leadership. The aspect of medical leadership that I want to talk about tonight is in the broad area of health system sustainability.

Mental Health is Everything

All of us who provide health care for Canberrans understand the fundamental importance of mental health to our community.  In many ways, it underpins the wellbeing of society irrespective of all other issues.  Illnesses and injuries – acute and chronic – take their course against the background of our mental health and wellbeing.  For this reason, it is vital that any health system place a high priority on good mental health, and on services to work towards the best possible mental health of the community.

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Prof Nick Glasgow, speaking at the ANUMSS Graduation Ball