THE MISSION OF THE ANAESTHETIST: From empathetic beginnings to delivering anaesthetic services to countries where surgical services can’t be provided
With
Dr Wendy Falloon, Anaesthetist
The Hobart Anaesthetic Group
Hobart, Tasmania
People In Health Care segment
Filmed in Hobart | March 2025
Dr Wendy Falloon is an Anaesthetist of over 30 years experience and a Fellow of Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA). She studied medicine at the University of Tasmania, and worked in Hobart, Sydney and the Uk while completing her specialist qualifications. Her primary professional focus has always been to deliver the best possible experience of anaesthesia to each and every patient, and for them to know that she sees and values them, and their stories.
Having been born in Africa, she realised even as a child that health and wealth were largely a product of where people happen to be born. This sowed the seed of her ongoing desire to be of help to others in less fortunate circumstances, ultimately leading to her volunteer work with the Mercy Ships charity. This is one of the most fulfilling aspects of her career, and she has volunteered in Africa with Mercy Ships 8 times since 2014.
She is married and the mother of 3 adult children. During the challenging time of juggling parenting and work, she recognised the absolute necessity of self care, especially in the form of exercise, and she regularly rides 150 km a week. She is a Christian, and her faith is foundational to her life.
-
Hair’s-breadth endoscopes to detect plaque
This coming World Heart Day (29th September 2021), Australian Health Journal’s People in Health Care series, releases a segment on Dr Jiawen Li.
Dr Jiawen Li is an inventor and highly adaptable engineer leading the intravascular imaging program at the Institute of Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS). She has developing an imaging device can be inserted into blood vessels to provide high quality 3D images to help scientists better understand the causes of heart attack and heart disease progression, and could lead to improved treatment and prevention.
-
Surgical Site Infection (SSI) Synopsis, including modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors
Talking to the Australian Health Journal, Professor Russo states there is a particular concern in joint operations, such as hip or knee replacements, as infections in these areas can have severe consequences, including the removal of the infected joint, prolonged treatment, and significant costs for both hospitals and patients. Despite the substantial impact of surgical site infections, Australia lacks a national surveillance program for these infections, making it challenging to obtain accurate data. However, an estimate suggests that around 45,000 surgical site infections occur annually in Australia, resulting in approximately 900 deaths.
-
Confronting picture of growing women’s health crisis in uterine cancers
Uterine cancers have become Australia’s fastest-growing women’s cancer, with incidence doubling over the past 25 years and projected to continue to surge. Without immediate action, more than 44,000 women are expected to be diagnosed by 2035, and 8,900 will lose their lives to the disease.
Released November 2025, Australia’s first State of the Nation: Uterine Cancers in Australia 2025 report by the Australia New Zealand Gynaecological Oncology Group (ANZGOG), reveals a confronting picture of a growing women’s health crisis that has gone largely unseen and one that now requires immediate, coordinated national action.
