Mesh pause a win for patient safety says College of Surgeons

In an open letter sent to the members of National Cabinet ahead of their meeting on Friday (6 September), community leaders call for governments to implement the alcohol-related recommendations outlined in the rapid review panel final report, Unlocking the prevention potential: Accelerating action to end domestic, family and sexual violence.

The recommendations include:
• 11a. equipping and resourcing General Practitioners (GPs), perinatal, and mental health and alcohol and other drug (AOD) services to identify and support DFSV victim-survivors and people who use violence (Commonwealth and states and territories).
• 11d. Increasing cross-sector collaboration between the AOD and DFSV sector and provide specialised services for women that are family friendly and support caring for children (states and territories).
• 14c. establishing a strategy for capability uplift across other intersecting workforces, and prioritising legal, justice, child protection and health (including AOD and mental health) sectors.
• 17a. adopting clear primary objectives in state and territory liquor regulatory regimes to prevent gender-based violence, alongside existing objectives around alcohol harm reduction (states and territories).
• 17b. restrictions on alcohol sales, delivery timeframes (states and territories) and advertising (Commonwealth and states and territories).

The open letter also calls on National Cabinet to re-establish a national governance framework for the alcohol and other drugs sector to coordinate action across state and territory governments.

Signatories to the open letter include: Dr Matthew Hope, Chair, Trauma Committee, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons; Patricia Turner AM, Chief Executive Officer, National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation; Kym Valentine, Survivor Advocate; Annabelle Daniel OAM, Chief Executive Officer Women’s Community Shelters; Donna Ah Chee, Chief Executive Officer, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress; Shanna Whan, Chief Executive Officer, Sober In the Country; and Mr Brian Howe AO, Hon Professor, University of Melbourne, Former Deputy Prime Minister; and Caterina Giorgi, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education.

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