BACK TO CONTENTS
LOCAL BRIEF Early allergen exposure Recently updated infant feeding guidelines have had a clear impact on Australian parents, with a new study showing that 86.2% of 12-month-olds had been introduced to peanut-including foods and other potential allergens. The research, published in the MJA, was led by Dr Michael O’Sullivan, a consultant immunologist at Perth Children’s Hospital and UWA, Sandra Vale, National Allergy Strategy Manager and UWA PhD student, and Dr Alan Leeb, a Perth GP and developer of the SmartVax app, which helps to gauge food allergy. The guidelines, which came into effect in January 2019, recommend the introduction of the common food allergens (ie, peanut and egg) in the first year of life, regardless of their allergy risk factors. The researchers set out to estimate the proportion of infants who reacted, using the SmartStartAllergy SMS protocol and an online questionnaire. “At 12 months of age, 1673 of 1940 infants had eaten peanut-including foods (86.2%); 235 of 1831 parents (12.8%) reported food-related reactions,” the report said. “Questionnaire responses indicated that dairy was the food type most frequently reported to cause a food-related reaction (72 of 835 exposed infants, 8.6%); peanut-related reactions were
reported for 20 of 764 exposed children (2.6%). Ninety-seven of 250 parent-reported reactions to food (39%) did not include symptoms that suggested an IgE-mediated allergic reaction.”
Advance the plan More West Australians have been made aware of advance care planning as a result of an Australiafirst awareness campaign, “You Only Die Once”, developed and managed by Palliative Care WA. The campaign was delivered between August and October, during the passage of the Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation last year. The WA Parliament Joint Select Committee on End of Life Choices had identified that only 7% of the WA community had completed any form of Advance Care Plan to address their end of life wishes. A comparison of pre-and postcampaign survey results indicated a 60% increase in awareness of Advance Care Planning. In addition, more than 6000 people had visited the campaign website for more information over the period of the campaign. Palliative Care WA CEO Lana Glogowski said the response proved that not only was the concept effective but there was also an appetite for the topic.
Students go forth The first cohort of medical students from the newly-opened Curtin University Midland Campus have begun their placement at St John of God Midland Public and Private Hospitals (SJGMPPH). There are 18 fourth years students this year, with the number expected to grow in ensuing years. Acting Dean Professor Sally Sandover said many of the SJH staff have taught the students on campus over the first three years of their course. “Learning in the clinical setting is an exciting progression for the students and a wonderful opportunity to learn from dedicated staff,” Professor Sandover said. Midland CEO Michael Hogan said he hoped that once the medical students completed their studies, many would return to continue their career at the hospital.
MEDICAL FORUM | PAIN MANAGEMENT ISSUE
The WA Government is looking to create economic benefit as well as better health outcomes from its commitment to health research. It has created an industry reference group to help develop a Health and Medical Life Sciences Industry Growth Plan to help innovations lead to commercialisation, which will, in turn, help diversify the local economy. The group, chaired by Chief Scientist Professor Peter Klinken, includes sector experts, Dr Michael Winlo, from Emerald Clinics, Dr Katharine Giles, from OncoRes Medical, Ms Liddy McCall, from Yuuwa Capital, and Mr Abdul Ekram, from Austrade. According to AusBiotech, WA experienced Australia's biggest growth in the wider life sciences sector between 2017 and 2019 with a 50% increase in the number of organisations operating here. Dr Richelle Douglas is the new medical director at Derbarl Yerrigan. The new medical director of SHQ is Dr Cathy Brooker. The State Government has released Implementation Plan One 2020-2022 (IP1) of its WA End-of-Life and Palliative Care Strategy, which are both available to be viewed online. IP1 supports a shared responsibility between representatives to identify direction, plan and coordinate local initiatives, establish partnerships and work collaboratively. The WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network has two new clinical leads. Dr Simon Towler is Clinical Lead End-of-Life Care and A/Professor Alison Parr as Clinical Lead Palliative Care. Dr Towler has had many senior roles across WA Health. Most recently he was a member of the Sustainable Health Review Clinical Reference Group and a member of the Ministerial Expert Panel on Voluntary Assisted Dying. A/ Prof Parr is a palliative Medicine Specialist and Director of Medical Services at St John of God Murdoch Hospital (SJoGMH). The network paid tribute to former clinical lead Dr Keiron Bradley.
MARCH 2020 | 11
