SA

SA BRANCH REPORT

As we come to the end of another year and bravely embrace a new, I would firstly like to acknowledge and thank the service of the many dedicated and expert healthcare engineering professionals across South Australia and the Northern Territory. These people together with clinical teams, have been so fundamental to keeping our respective States safe in the face of the changing COVID-19 pandemic. South Australia was again cued about the unpredictable and fast-moving nature of COVID-19, with a short “circuit breaker” lockdown being imposed at the end of November. As healthcare workers were mandated to wear masks and non-essential staff directed to work from home, it was another reminder of the crucial support provided by healthcare engineering at the front line when it comes to managing a crisis. On behalf of all of our community – thank you.

This year has not been conducive to holding our usual professional development and networking activities, despite best ambitions and endeavours. Arrangements were finalised for a number of events which were disappointingly cancelled later due to COVID-19 restrictions. We appreciate the efforts of all committee members, presenters and sponsors involved in producing those ‘would-be’ events. We know that members look forward to the informal interactions before and after professional development events, so we apologise to members and look forward to a slightly more social COVID-normal 2021.

Another timely reminder – already our region is experiencing an early start to the bushfire season so please take a moment to review and refresh both your personal and organisational bushfire management plans as we head into summer.

Our end of year event is scheduled for early December at Built Water Solutions in Clarendon in the beautiful Adelaide Hills and we look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it to properly celebrate your excellent contributions to our industry throughout the year. We thank our sponsors and supporters for being part of the IHEA network.

Wishing all our members a safe and happy festive season, on behalf of the SA/NT Committee of Management,

Michael Scerri – President, SA Branch