Commencing a new series called Pioneers in Health Care, is an interview with Professor Jeremy Chapman AC who for over 30 years, has been involved in nephrectomy, or kidney transplantation.
Honoured “for eminent service to medicine, particularly in the areas of clinical and biomedical research, to the development of ethical policy and practices for organ donation, acquisition and transplantation, and to renal medicine organisations and publications, Jeremy Chapman AC has played significant roles in development of kidney, pancreas and unrelated Bone Marrow Transplantation in Australia.
He has been responsible for global development of ethical transplantation through The Transplantation Society, the World Marrow Donor Association and through advisory roles to the World Health Organisation. He is identified as one of the most influential global leaders in the field of clinical transplantation.
Credit: Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
In September 2022, Western Sydney’s Professor Jeremy Chapman was bestowed the prestigious 2022 Medawar Prize on-stage in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Medawar Prize, awarded biennially since 1990 and named after Society co-founder Sir Peter Medawar, is globally recognised as the most prestigious award for excellence in Transplantation Science and Jeremy is “surprised and honoured” saying “not many people get this award so it’s a true delight”.
The award recognises outstanding investigators whose contributions have profoundly influenced organ transplantation.
Professor Chapman has dedicated much of his career to clinical care and research at Westmead, since commencing as a renal physician at Westmead Hospital in 1987. He has worked as Director of Western Renal Services, Westmead Hospital’s Director of Medicine and Cancer, as well as the Director of the Westmead Hospital Foundation, Chair of the Westmead Research Hub Council and member and deputy chair of the board of WSLHD.
In the early days of transplantation long-term care of transplant patients was mostly undertaken by transplant surgeons but as both the numbers and the complexity of transplantation increased, Professor Chapman was amongst the vanguard of renal physicians that focussed, as a physician, on care of patients after their transplant.
“It’s been an interesting road of discovery over time, but also a major transformation in the outcome for our patients,” Professor Chapman said.
“When I was first involved in 1978, we thought a 60% success rate at one year after a transplant was pretty good, even when choosing the very best patients to transplant, now, we would expect more than 90 or 95% success rates in much, much older and sicker patients.”
“Australia has been a great springboard for global activity, so it’s worked out very well to be working in Australia to impact on transplantation globally.”, according to Professor Chapman.
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Calls for National Social Prescribing Scheme
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF) and Mental Health Australia are urging the government to implement a national social prescribing scheme to tackle Australia’s mental health and wellbeing crisis.
Mental ill health is a growing problem in Australia and has been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2017, GPs across Australia have rated mental health as the most common presentation they see as part of the RACGP’s annual Health of the Nation survey. Approximately 20% of patients consult their GP for what are primarily social problems.
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Impact of genetic pathologist role across medicine
Dr Marina Berbic is a genetic pathologist and the Deputy Director of Genetics at Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology – a laboratory based in Sydney and part of Sonic Healthcare. The genetics department at Douglass Hanly Moir offers a wider array of genetic tests across many domains, and the medical leadership model ensures the highest possible standard of care and commitment to patient safety.
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Paramedics seek team-based primary health care pilots
The Chief Executive Officer of The Australasian College of Paramedicine, John Bruning spoke with Australian Health Journal about the following:
New models of care proposed for paramedics
Paramedicine pilot program in the pre-budget submission
Scope of how paramedics can support General Practice, and guidelines on safety and quality
Current limitations experienced by paramedics needing to be addressed by Government
Other health priorities hopefully addressed in Federal Budget.In the lead up to the Australian Federal Budget in May 2023, Australian Health Journal reached out to peak health industry bodies to hear about their priorities, either noted in pre-budget submissions lodged with Federal Government in January 2023 or in recent forums such as the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
