Dean A/Prof Roger Allison

Faculty of Radiation Oncology Faculty of Radiation Oncology Education Board Other College Groups Radiation Oncology Education and Training Past Faculty of Radiation Oncology Deans

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Governance issues

The first Faculty Board meeting for 2008 was held on 22 February 2008 – two new Board members (Dr Roland Yeghiaian-Alvandi and Prof Michael Barton) were welcomed at this meeting. Dr Art Kaminski also joined the Board as the Junior Forum representative.

With the aim of maintaining a strategic view of influences on our practice as radiation oncologists, the Faculty Board regularly invites representatives of key external stakeholder groups to address the Board. During the past year Prof David Currow (CEO Cancer Australia) and Mr John Stubbs (Executive Officer, Cancer Voices) have both attended Board meetings. Attendance by these executive personnel provides an opportunity for the Board to be brought up to date on the activities of these organisations and for discussion on how the Faculty may best engage and work with these key external stakeholders.

The Board invited Dr Nicola Dunbar (Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Healthcare (ACSQHC)) to attend the Faculty Board meeting. Dr Dunbar provided background information on a number of projects that ACSQHC is currently undertaking - these include the development of Australian Healthcare Standards that has been proposed in the ACSQHC paper Alternative Model for Safety and Quality Accreditation (November 2007). The paper proposes that the ‘alternative model’ is designed to be applied across all sectors of health services whether they are provided by registered or non-registered health professionals. The model would be implemented incrementally, commencing with high risk services.

Dr Dunbar’s attendance at the meeting also provided the Board with an opportunity to discuss the Draft Patient Matching Protocol that ACSQHC has developed for Radiation Oncology and the Draft National Patient Charter of Rights that the Commission has recently released for comment.

The Faculty in the media

During January, Faculty’s support was voiced in the media for the Cancer Council Australia’s 2008-09 Federal Budget Submission calling on the Australian Government to adopt Senate recommendations to improve travel and accommodation assistance for cancer patients in rural Australia. The Senate report, “Highway to health: better access for rural, regional and remote patients”, recommended that the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Committee sets travel and accommodation subsidy rates that reflect living costs and that the need to improve the schemes is recognised in the next Australian Health Care Agreements. The report recognised evidence that outcomes are worse for the 30% of Australian cancer patients who live outside a metropolitan centre. The media statement led to interviews by a number of regional ABC radio stations and National Regional Radio (54 stations).

Meeting with new Federal Health Minister sought

A meeting is being sought with the Minister Nicola Roxon with the aim of bringing priority issues in Radiation Oncology to her attention - the new Minister has indicated a responsive position to consultation with peak bodies. Issues will be raised in the context of their alignment with the new Government’s stated aims for addressing issues in healthcare.

Radiation Oncology Treatment Services Quality Program

The Faculty is keen to continue working with the Australian Government in promoting provision of appropriate, high quality radiotherapy services through the Radiation Oncology Treatment Services Quality Program (the Quality Program). A number of factors have resulted in the funding proposal for Phase II (pilot of the draft standards, and determining the cost of compliance with the standards (Phase III). not progressing and a resultant lengthy hiatus in continuation of the program. It is anticipated that continued funding of the program would be raised in a meeting with the Minister.

Meeting with Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA)

A recent meeting was held between representatives of ARPANSA and the College to discuss issues raised in the RANZCR Submission to ARPANSA on the proposed Code of Practice for Radiation Protection in the Medical Applications of Ionizing Radiation and the associated Safety Guides for Radiotherapy and Radiology. Discussion included how communication between ARPANSA and the College can be improved and made more effective. The representatives were keen to hear of progress with the Radiation Oncology Treatment Services Quality Program. In line with an invitation extended for the RANZCR Radiology Quality and Accreditation Program to have a representative on the ARPANSA Radiation Health Committee, Mr Loy (CEO ARPANSA) also indicated that when future funding of the Quality Program is secured, they would be pleased to have a representative of the Program also join this committee.

Review of recommended annual number of new patients per Radiation Oncologist

Faculty Board recently considered the need to review the currency of the RANZCR recommendation on the number of new patients per Radiation Oncologist per year in light of the findings of the 2006 Australian and New Zealand Radiation Oncology Workforce Survey Report that confirmed findings highlighted in previous studies regarding high workloads in Radiation Oncology, with 60% of all respondents reporting seeing more than 250 new patients per year. Additionally, there is evidence that the recommendation is being referenced as a benchmark in some departments and in workforce shortage forecast models.

The Faculty Board has agreed that a guideline (recommendation) is desirable and requested that the Economics and Workforce Committee develop a strategy and provisional costing to develop such a guideline.

A/Prof Roger Allison
Dean

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