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Introduction
Volume 12 No 4
I
September 2016
5
Presidential
Communique on
Interventional
Radiology
Dr Greg Slater
Dear Colleagues
A new voice for interventional
radiology
As President of RANZCR, I write to
inform you of developments in the
professional representation of College
members practising interventional
radiology (IR) and interventional
neuroradiology (INR) in Australia and
New Zealand, and the process by which
the College has determined to address
emerging issues and standards in these
subspecialties.
Recently, the RANZCR Board of
Directors and Faculty of Clinical
Radiology Council resolved to establish
an Interventional Radiology Committee
of RANZCR as a standing committee
of the Faculty of Clinical Radiology
(FCR) to work across the spectrum
of intervention-related issues, from
interventions performed by all clinical
radiologists to high level complex
procedures. The establishment of this
committee comes as a considered
response to long-running concerns over
the recognition and support accorded
to interventional radiologists within the
College structure, at a crucial time when
these practitioners are facing challenges
on several fronts.
The College has been at a crossroads
considering how it may best understand
the concerns and interests of RANZCR
members working in IR and INR. We
have now chosen a course that will
significantly improve representation and
the flow of information, raise the voices
and profile of interventional radiologists
in key forums and, just as importantly,
help ensure that their decision-making is
guided by the needs of patients and the
best patient outcomes achievable.
Background to the decision
In 2012, the College signed a formal
agreement ceding its direct participation
in IR matters to two affiliated societies,
the Interventional Radiology Society of
Australasia (IRSA) and the Australian and
New Zealand Society of Neuroradiology
(ANZSNR). Under the agreements, the
College provided the societies with
resourcing and secretariat support in
exchange for their participation in a joint
reference group and their advice on
matters of policy and standards.
It is well known today that these
arrangements have not worked. The
reference group failed to eventuate
and for a period relations between the
two societies deteriorated into what
most would consider an unacceptable
state of affairs. The memorandum of
understanding was formally dissolved
in 2014, and no alternative arrangement
has come into being, frustrating
the College’s efforts to represent all
members equally.
The College has an obligation –
through our accreditation by the
Australian Medical Council and the
Medical Council of New Zealand – to
fairly represent all RANZCR members,
regardless of the individual character
of their work, including the setting of
professional standards for all.
Interventional radiologists face external
challenges too. These challenges are
due to other medical professionals
seeking to displace them in the
workplace, and from international
debate on how IR and INR practitioners
should participate in radiological
associations and societies, which has
fuelled uncertainty about status and
identity.
The conflicts and challenges now
apparent here have engendered
vigorous discussion, not always clear
or considered, over patient access,
credentialing, training, clinical evidence
and relationships with other professional
groups. The College has not escaped
the unresolved interplay of issues within
the various groups and, as you may be
aware, this has generated tension within
our membership.
We seek today to resolve the tension as
far as is practicable within the College
and make sure we remain committed to
an evidence-based culture focused on
patient outcomes and equity in access
to high-quality care.
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