AUSTRALIA / NEW ZEALAND

CSU-ALS / CALS in Australia and New Zealand

CALS arrived in Australia in 2017 after Joel Dunning had given an update course to the Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) in November 2016. Adrian Levine arrived in November 2017 and opened the first Centres of Excellence (COE) in Sydney (Royal Prince Alfred (RPA)), Melbourne (Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH)), and Adelaide (Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH)). Subsequently, he went to New Zealand and opened the first COE there in Waikato. He liked Australia so much that he decided to emigrate there!

As in Europe and the US, collaboration occurred with clinicians, nurses, and professionals allied to medicine to develop and refine the European and US Guidelines for an Australasian ‘market’. With a typical Aussie ‘can-do’ attitude, these revised guidelines were presented in the ANZSCTS meeting in 2019 and now, in early 2020, are awaiting publication.

CALS rapidly gained popularity with Intensivists and Nursing Staff. The courses were readily accredited by the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (ANZICS) and the Australian College of Critical Care Nursing (AAACN). CPD / CME points are now available for Intensivists doing CALS courses in Australia. Nursing staff are now officially credited with 16 hours of education (through eLearning and 1-day course).

CALS centres of Excellence are now found in Sydney (RPA ,Royal North Shore and Prince of Wales Hospital), Melbourne (RMH and Monash), Adelaide (RAH and Flinders Medical College), Perth (Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Fiona Stanley Hospital) , Sunshine Coast University Hospital (SCUH) and Sunshine Coast University Private Hospital (SCUPH), John Hunter Hospital (Newcastle) , Hamilton NZ (Waikato) and Wellington NZ.

In 2020, further centres will open in Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH), John Flynn Hospital (Gold Coast), Westmead Hospital (Sydney), and Canberra. Negotiations are ongoing with The Prince Charles Hospital (Brisbane) and Christchurch Hospital (NZ) to become COEs in late 2020/early 2021.

In 2020, further centres will open in Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH), John Flynn Hospital (Gold Coast), Westmead Hospital (Sydney), and Canberra. Negotiations are ongoing with The Prince Charles Hospital (Brisbane) and Christchurch Hospital (NZ) to become COEs in late 2020/early 2021.

The CALS - ANZ board meets monthly to redevelop guidelines, share educational development, and pursue academic matters regarding CALS in Australia and New Zealand.

To get involved, contact:

Christian Karcher - Christian.Karcher@mh.org.au

Tim Southwood - tim_southwood@hotmail.com

Amy Rogers - Amy.Rogers@mh.org.au

Dave McCormack - David.McCormack@waikatodhb.health.nz

Craig Jurisevic - jurisevic@ozemail.com.au