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The Oak April 2025

Congratulations to the New South Wales Operating Theatre Association for a successful conference last month. And thanks for inviting me to speak. ACORN’s Education Officer, Angela Jarkey, also came to the conference and she and I were very busy talking to our members and meeting trade representatives. It just shows the value of having two people from ACORN at these events.

ACORN was proud to represent the Australian perioperative nursing community recently at the Asia Safe Surgical Implant Consortium held in Bangkok. Read the very interesting report of this important event, by ACORN’s Clinical Excellence Coordinator, Edwina Eaton, below.

This issue of The Oak also includes five new journal articles as well as links to coming events and perioperative nursing positions available in the Northern Territory.

Tracy Kerle
Board Chair
 

Asia Safe Surgical Implant Consortium

2025-03-28_ASSIC-photo.jpg25–28 March, Bangkok, Thailand

ACORN’s Clinical Excellence Coordinator, Edwina Eaton, represented the Australian perioperative nursing community at the third session of the Asia Safe Surgical Implant Consortium (ASSIC), held in Bangkok. The consortium, an initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centres program, arose out of a desire to create three consensus documents to implement best practice and standardise practice across Asia and the Pacific to minimise the incidence of surgical site infections.

This important event brought together representatives from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam and Hong Kong to discuss key issues related to surgical safety, sterilisation and implant management.

Highlights included:

  • Global collaboration and engagement: Sessions were both inspiring and productive, featuring workshops facilitated by Professor Seto Wing Hong and Ms Patricia Ching from the WHO Collaborating Centre in Hong Kong. These discussions fostered cross-cultural dialogue on challenges and strategies for improving surgical safety in the Asia–Pacific region.
  • Focus areas: The consortium focused on implementing quality assurance and digitisation, proper management of loan instruments and implants, and sterilisation recall policy and procedure. Insights from various countries were shared, particularly in relation to barriers such as cost, the ideal versus reality, stakeholder and/or vendor engagement requirement, communication between the operating room (OR), central sterile services department (CSSD) and infection control, and access to needed resources.
  • Workshops and discussions focusing on:
    • Sterilisation practices: Topics such as sterilisation regulations, risk assessments and re-usable instruments were explored. Local discussion around Australian standards and clinical gap analysis that may be appropriate for ACORN to step in for guidance in collaboration with Federation of Sterilizing Research Advisory Councils of Australia (FSRACA).
    • Sustainability: Innovative solutions for sustainability were shared, including the use of solar cells in hospitals and recycling materials for construction, highlighting the potential for these practices in the Australian health care context.
    • Loan and implant management: Case studies from Singapore and Korea focused on quality improvement programmes (QIPs) for implant and loan management, with discussions about identifying potential Australian sites for best practice model implementation.
  • Panel discussions and networking: A panel discussion emphasised the need for collaboration between infection control, ORs and the CSSD to ensure the success of surgical safety initiatives. This collaboration is crucial for improving outcomes in implant and loan management. There were multiple international networking opportunities to foster collaboration between countries that provided great ideas, resources and clinical expertise to support ACORN in both its clinical excellence and education programs.
  • Presentations and innovations: Notable advancements in equipment monitoring and sterilisation technologies were presented, with particular focus on automated and integrated systems that reduce human error. This is an area where Australia’s digital capabilities can play a significant role in improving sterilisation and validation processes.
  • Hospital visit: The final day included a visit to Ramathibodhi Chakri Naruebodindra Hospital and provided insights into OR and CSSD operations as well as lean practices, and the opportunity to reflect on how these practices might be adapted for Australian health care settings or ACORN international projects in the Pacific Islands and Papua New Guinea.

Impact for the Australian perioperative community

This event highlighted the importance of Australia’s presence in global conversations about surgical safety and sterilisation standards. By participating in the development and strategic implementation of WHO consensus documents, the Australian perioperative community is contributing to shaping best practices across the APAC region. Engaging with experts from diverse countries has provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities in the field, ensuring that Australia remains at the forefront of these global efforts.

The opportunity to network, share knowledge and learn from international peers was both a privilege and a responsibility. As discussions around digitalisation, quality assurance, implant and loan management, and sustainability continue to evolve, Australia's input will be essential to shaping a safer, more sustainable future for surgical practices worldwide.

ACORN Annual General Meeting
Saturday 28 June
VPNG Conference
Friday 8 August, Pullman Melbourne
NTPNA Conference
15–16 August, Darwin Hilton

ACORN 2026 Conference
14–16 May 2026, Brisbane Convention Centre