Obstetric Malpractice Conference

PRESENTING THE 12TH ANNUAL

8 – 9 October 2020 | Rendezvous Hotel, Melbourne

SPEAKERS INCLUDE:

FEATURING A KEYNOTE ADDRESS FROM:

Dr Vijay Roach MBBS MRCOG FRANZCOG, President, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

Dr David Amor, Chair, Lorenzo and Pamela Galli, Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne

Professor Steve Robson, Past-President, RANZCOG and Co-Founder, Send Hope and Member, ANHMRC

Shari R. L. Liby, Principal Lawyer, Medical Negligence, Slater and Gordon Lawyers

Bill Madden, Special Counsel, Carroll and O’Dea Lawyers

Associate Professor Tina Cockburn TEP, Co-Director, Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology

Janine McIlwraith, Principal Lawyer, Slater and Gordon Lawyers

Mary Anne Hartley QC, Victorian Bar

Dr Oliver Daly, Consultant Urogynaecologist and Obstetrician, Western Health

Megan Fitzgerald, Barrister, Greens List, Victorian Bar

Kate Waterford, Special Counsel, Maliganis Edwards Johnson & Chair, The Australasian Birth Trauma Association

Liana Johnson, Master of Physiotherapy, Women’s Health

Dr Vinayak Smith, Clinician Scientist, Monash University, RANZCOG Trainee, Clinical Innovation Consultant

Fiona Reid, Clinical Midwifery Consultant, NSW Health Maternity Services

Professor Bryanne Barnett AM, Child and Family Psychiatrist, Conjoint Professor, School of Psychiatry, UNSW

Amy Dawes, Founder & Director, Australasian Birth Trauma Association

Professor Richard Doherty, Practitioner Member, Medical Board of Australia

Pip Brennan, Executive Director, Health Consumers Council

Timothy Bowen, Senior Solicitor – Advocacy, Claims & Education, MIGA

Dr Rupert Sherwood FRANZCOG, Senior Staff Specialist O&G, Western Health, VIC

Emily Hart, Principal Lawyer, Medical Negligence, Maurice Blackburn

Andrea de Souza, Barrister, Greens List

Associate Professor Christopher Barnett, Head of the Paediatric and Reproductive Genetics Unit, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide & Clinical Lead of the NHMRC and MRFF funded Genomic Autopsy Study

www.informa.com.au/obstetric2020

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY 7 OCTOBER 2020 | 2:00PM – 5:00PM

Practical application of legal and ethical concepts in obstetric practice

Andrea de Souza, Barrister, Greens List Shari Liby, Principal Lawyer, Medical Negligence, Slater and Gordon Lawyers

Jennifer Cowen, Barrister, Dever’s ListSophie Pennington, Partner, Practice Group Head Health, HWL Ebsworth Melbourne

RANZCOG: The 12th Annual Obstetric Malpractice Conference has been approved as a RANZCOG Approved O&G Meeting and eligible Fellows of this College can claim 11.5 CPD Points for full attendance.  Certificates of attendance are issued upon completion. For RANZCOG Members, the activity is now available to be selected within the MyRANZCOG CPD portal.

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SUPPORTED BY:

The health and safety of our delegates, speakers and staff is our top priority. Whilst our focus is on delivering a traditional face-to-face event we are fully prepared with a flexible platform if required for an experience to combine knowledge sharing and

networking like no other to ensure you can stay connected.

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9:00 OPENING | Opening remarks from the Chair

9:15 OPENING ADDRESS | Moving from transactional to relational patient care and the impact on the risk of litigation

— A fee for service medical care model arguably makes doctor-patient interaction transactional and less personal — Aversion to risk and fear of litigation may be a barrier to effective patient-centred care — Patients expect competence but they also seek empathy and compassion in healthcare — When adverse outcomes occur good communication reduces the risk of litigation

Dr Vijay Roach MBBS MRCOG FRANZCOG, President, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

9:50 From Castlemaine to Carlton: Are regional and suburban mums getting a lower standard of care, or are regional and suburban practitioners held to an unrealistic standard?

— Differences in obstetric malpractice cases and outcomes coming from rural/suburban obstetric practices vs those that are city-based — How the differing challenges faced by rural/suburban practitioners impact upon their legal risk — Whether the standard of care changes based upon resourcing/staffing, etc, and whether it should? — Does the patient need to know if the location of care increases their risk of a poorer outcome?

Andrea de Souza, Barrister, Greens List

Shari R. L. Liby, Principal Lawyer, Medical Negligence, Slater and Gordon Lawyers

10:25 Wrongful birth claims and the failure to provide information about genetic risks without patient consent

ABC v St Georges Health Care Trust — Some answers, but more questions?

Bill Madden, Special Counsel, Carroll and O’Dea Lawyers

Associate Professor Tina Cockburn TEP, Co-Director, Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of Technology

11:05 Networking and refreshment break

11:35 What genetic tests are available and how useful are they? Genetic testing is advancing rapidly, driven by new gene

sequencing technologies, and can provide precision diagnoses that is revolutionising the diagnosis of rare diseases. This presentation will summarise the latest advances in genetic testing, including when genetic testing is most likely to be useful and when it is more likely to ‘muddy the waters’.

Dr David Amor, Chair, Lorenzo and Pamela Galli, Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne

12:10 CASE REVIEWS | Cases that made a difference in 2019 Janine McIlwraith, Principal Lawyer, Slater and Gordon Lawyers

Mary Anne Hartley QC, Victorian Bar

12:50 INNOVATION | Can we solve age old problems in obstetrics with novel medical technologies?

— Overview of 3-4 areas of clinical areas which are currently having gaps in practices — How we can use medical devices as an approach to overcome this — Some touch points on how this has helped with the COVID situation

— How does this tie in with the potential litigation we face in obstetric areas? — An overview of how the future may look like with these technologies

Dr Vinayak Smith, Clinician Scientist, Monash University, RANZCOG Trainee, Clinical Innovation Consultant

13:25 Lunch and networking break

14:25 RESEARCH | What proportion of stillbirths and perinatal deaths can be diagnosed by genomic analyses?

Associate Professor Christopher Barnett, Head of the Paediatric and Reproductive Genetics Unit, Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide & Clinical Lead of the NHMRC and MRFF funded Genomic Autopsy Study

15:00 Mandatory reporting to AHPRA in the context of mental health

Health practice generally, and obstetrics in particular, can be mentally challenging and sometimes distressing. This session will cover when a report to AHPRA might be appropriate or mandatory. It looks at the regulatory laws around managing health concerns that may impact on a practitioner’s professional standards. The law attempts to strike a balance between ensuring health practitioners get help when they need it but also making sure risky conduct is reported. It is important that health practitioners understand the law so that they will seek treatment, without unnecessary fear of being reported to AHPRA and to understand the processes that follow a report to AHPRA. Responding to a notification in a calm and considered way will always improve the outcome.

Megan Fitzgerald, Barrister, Greens List, Victorian Bar

15:35 Networking and refreshment break

15:55 PANEL DISCUSSION | Getting the balance right in antenatal advice: Providing the tools to navigate risks and options in the maternity journey

— The panel will bring together an obstetrician, psychiatrist, midwife, lawyer and patient, to discuss the issue of advising women about their risks and options in antenatal care from a range of perspectives — Research suggests that a significant number of Australian women suffer physical and/or psychological trauma during birth. In preparing for birth and the potential complications that go with it, women (and their partners) require accurate physical assessment; quality information on risks and options; a model of care that suits their circumstances; and realistic expectations of the birth process — The panel will consider how this is best achieved, and the challenges that health providers encounter in finding the right balance

Moderated by: Kate Waterford, Special Counsel, Maliganis Edwards Johnson & Chair, The Australasian Birth Trauma Association

Dr Oliver Daly, Consultant Urogynaecologist and Obstetrician, Western Health

Fiona Reid, Clinical Midwifery Consultant, NSW Health Maternity Services

Professor Bryanne Barnett AM, Child and Family Psychiatrist, Conjoint Professor, School of Psychiatry, UNSW

Amy Dawes, Founder & Director, Australasian Birth Trauma Association

16:55 Closing remarks from the Chair

17:05 Networking Function

Obstetric Malpractice Conference Thursday 8 October 2020 DAY 1

#obstetric20

9:00 OPENING | Opening remarks from the Chair

9:15 Maternity team ‘wellness’: Narcissism, nicety, or necessity?

Professor Steve Robson, Past-President, RANZCOG and Co-Founder, Send Hope and Member, ANHMRC

9:50 The impact of COVID-19 on maternity care in Australia in 2020

— Disease burden from COVID-19 in Australia — Response of the maternity system to the COVID-19 pandemic — Future-proofing the maternity system for further crises

Dr Clare Whitehead, Consultant Obstetrician, The Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne

10:25 PANEL DISCUSSION | The impaired doctor

Dealing with the impaired doctor is a major problem for health system. This discussion will look at this from a range of perspectives including the impaired doctor, the doctor treating the impaired doctor, a regulator and an indemnifier and a patient advocate.

Moderated by: Professor Steve Robson, Past-President, RANZCOG and Co-Founder, Send Hope and Member, ANHMRC

Professor Richard Doherty, Practitioner Member, Medical Board of Australia

Pip Brennan, Executive Director, Health Consumers Council

Timothy Bowen, Senior Solicitor – Advocacy, Claims & Education, MIGA

11:20 Networking and refreshment break

11:50 The difference between defensive and defendable medicine — What motivates the patient to become a plaintiff? — How do we avoid becoming the subject of legal action and the role of open disclosure? — Why doctors need help from an early stage in the process?

Dr Andrew Pickering MBChB LLM(Health) FRANZCOG, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist in Public and Private Practice on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and North Shore

12:25 Post birth physiotherapy care in Australia — Is post-natal physiotherapy an essential service? — Post-natal conditions — Treatment of these conditions — Case studies

Liana Johnson, Master of Physiotherapy, Women’s Health

13:00 Lunch and networking break

14:00 Fatigue and the Obstetrician – Are you too tired to work? — What does the literature say about physician fatigue? — Is there a role for regulation? — What can we do to mitigate this risk in a 24/7 specialty?

Dr Rupert Sherwood FRANZCOG, Senior Staff Specialist O&G, Western Health, VIC

14:35 PANEL DISCUSSION | Looking after yourself legally

Obstetrics is probably the area of highest legal risk for health practitioners. In the context of scenarios based on their legal experience, the panel will discuss the steps that health practitioners can take to protect themselves from adverse legal outcomes, including:

— Optimal documentation of procedures, particularly when incidents occur — Communicating well in high-risk situations, like consent for urgent procedures and adverse outcomes — When to notify AHPRA, including whether a mandatory report must be made — When to notify insurers and how to get the most out of your cover

Emily Hart, Principal Lawyer, Medical Negligence, Maurice Blackburn

Rob Muir, Partner, Insurance Law & Litigation (Health), Lander & Rogers

Megan Fitzgerald, Barrister, Greens List, Victorian Bar, Medical and Legal Malpractice

15:30 Closing remarks from the Chair and Q & A with speakers

15:40 End of Conference

DAY 2Obstetric Malpractice Conference Friday 9 October 2020

www.informa.com.au/obstetric2020Keep updated on exclusive speaker interviews and other specialist content pieces at Informa Insights – www.informa.com.au/insights

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP

WEDNESDAY 7 OCTOBER 2020 | 2:00PM – 5:00PM

Practical application of legal and ethical concepts in obstetric practiceAttendees will form small groups and work through real scenarios from recent cases. The various responses will be discussed with commentary from experienced plaintiff and defendant legal practitioners. Medical attendees will benefit from differing medical viewpoints, a brief refresher on legal concepts applicable to obstetric practice and legal analysis of their responses to complex medical scenarios. Legal attendees will benefit from hearing from legal practitioners from different backgrounds, greater understanding of the challenges medical practitioners face ‘at the coalface’ and insight into how medical practitioners respond to difficult scenarios.Andrea de Souza, Barrister, Greens List Shari Liby, Principal Lawyer, Medical Negligence, Slater and Gordon LawyersJennifer Cowen, Barrister, Dever’s ListSophie Pennington, Partner, Practice Group Head Health, HWL Ebsworth Melbourne

SPONSORSHIP AND EXHIBITION OPPORTUNITIES

Excellent opportunities exist to showcase your organisation.For further information, please contact:Danielle Newman, Sponsorship ManagerPhone: (+61) 2 9080 4432Email: Danielle.Newman@informa.com

For full terms and conditions, please visit:www.informa.com.au/obstetric2020

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Pricing Details

Register Early & Save Early Bird Rate: Book & pay by 31 Jul 2020 Full Rate: Book & pay from 1 Aug 2020

Two day conference PRICE GST TOTAL SAVE PRICE GST TOTAL

Hospital Rate $1595 $159.50 $1754.50 $600 $2195 $219.50 $2414.50

Hospital Rate + Workshop $2090 $209 $2290 $600 $2690 $269 $2959

Standard Rate $2195 $219.50 $2414.50 $500 $2695 $269.50 $2964.50

Standard Rate + Workshop $2690 $269 $2959 $500 $3190 $319 $3509

Obstetric Malpractice Conference8 – 9 October 2020 | Rendezvous Hotel, Melbourne

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SPECIAL GROUP BOOKING DISCOUNTS: BOOK 3 DELEGATES AND THE 4TH COMES FREE.

All delegates must be from the same company and register at the same time to qualify. Please contact Customer Service on 02 9080 4307 or info@informa.com.au to take up this offer.

VENUE DETAILS: Rendezvous Hotel, Melbourne, 328 Flinders St, Melbourne VIC 3000 Phone: (03) 9250 1888, www.rendezvoushotels.com.au/Melbourne

BOOK WITH TOTAL CONFIDENCE

The COVID-19 situation is changing daily, and we want you to feel totally confident about booking onto our events.If Informa Connect needs to reschedule the event, we will simply roll over your booking to the new dates. If Informa Connect is unable to run the event again in the next 12 months, you will be entitled to a full refund.