Inside News

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General Interest
Volume 12 No 4 I September 2016 57
First things first, the Hurricanes won
the final of the Super Rugby! I am
tempted to stop here, after all what
else is important to say? Appealing
as that might be, I will stammer a few
more words to ensure compliance
with College etiquette, and to prevent
getting into trouble.
On the first weekend in August, the New
Zealand Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM)
was held in Wellington. I am grateful to
the convenors Dr Iain Morle (Hawkes
Bay) and Dr Rix Du Plessis (Palmerston
North) for organising this event. Lung
cancer is one of New Zealand’s most
prolific killers and was a worthy theme
for the meeting. The keynote speakers
were Dr John Mayo who covered CT
radiation dose; Dr David Wilson and
Dr Gina Allen who discussed advances
in musculoskeletal radiology; and Dr
Shankar Siva who worked through
SABR for oligometastatic prostate
cancer—all did an excellent job. It was
also very pleasing to see the following
awards presented to recognise the high
standard of our members:
1. (OBEX) William A Cook Award, Best
Radiology Registrar Presentation: Dr
Greg Tarr
2. FRONNZ Best Radiation Oncology
Registrar Presentation: Dr Saad
Maqsood
3. New Zealand Radiology Education
Trust Poster Prize: Dr Matthew Mouat
The NZ ASM is an important event
and something that as a Branch we
should not take for granted. Given
continued decline in the level of
sponsorship income, it is critical that
we keep supporting the event through
attendance. Accordingly, I look forward
to the NZ ASM in Nelson next year and
what the convenors Dr Rebecca Harris
and Dr Jamie Evans conjure up.
On a policy footing, the Branch has had
constructive meetings with stakeholders,
responded to several HealPACT
submissions and formally endorsed
various clinical guidelines from external
bodies. Additionally, an important
meeting was held with Immigration
New Zealand (INZ) around immigration
medical examinations. Working with the
Onshore Panel Physician Network from
1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016, 184,061
medicals were assessed, with 58,290
(31.7%) being submitted from New
Zealand-based clinics. INZ uses X-rays
to pick up tuberculosis, and also to
provide a valuable source of information
on applicants with abdominal clips
or sternal wires as they may not have
mentioned any surgery. INZ is looking
into changing their processes so that all
applicants requiring a chest X-ray visit a
panel physician first. If this change takes
place, applicants won’t need to turn up
to a radiology practice needing a photo
and a pre-exam done, as this would all
get processed at a panel physician clinic
first.
The New Zealand launch of Choosing
Wisely occurred in September.
Important data was presented by the
College of Midwives at the Choosing
Wisely Clinical Conversations meeting
held in May. Stemming from the work
of the National Maternity Monitoring
Group and the Maternal Fetal
Medicine Clinical Governance Board,
it highlighted that the volumes of
ultrasounds being performed on fetuses
are higher than clinically recommended.
Dr Rachael McEwing sits on the above
mentioned committees for the College.
It is pivotal that radiology works through
the issues raised by this data.
Lastly, I record the results of the recent
Branch elections and congratulate Dr
Lisa Sweetman on being re-elected to
the position of Branch Education Officer,
this time for a three-year term, and to
Dr Gabriel Lau for being elected as a
Branch Committee member.
As always, I am happy to talk to anybody
about Branch matters, or any other
issues that they might have.
Please feel free to contact me at
New Zealand
Branch News
Dr Lance Lawler