SEPTEMBER 2012
COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP IN
2012
Members of the Medical Sciences Council are appointed by
the Minister of Health. Terms of office can be for a period of
up to three years (with a maximum of three consecutive
terms).
who works in both public and private health services in
Auckland. Andrew has been appointed for a two-year term
to March 2014.
In 2012 the Council appointed Sue
Carnoutsos as Chair and Professor Brett
Delahunt as Deputy Chair
The Council currently has twelve members. Five members
are registered Medical Laboratory Scientists, one is a
registered Medical Laboratory Technician, and one member
is a registered Pathologist.
In 2012 the Council extended its membership to include
practitioners from the professions of anaesthesia and
anaesthetic technology. One member is a registered
Medical Anaesthetist and one member is a registered
Anaesthetic Technician.
The remaining three members of the Council are lay
members.
In 2012 Bruce Dove, a long-serving member of the Council,
finished his term of office. Bruce took a lead role in helping
the Council to establish its framework for the accreditation of
New Zealand education providers of qualifications
prescribed by the Council for the purpose of registration in
the medical laboratory science profession. He also served
on a number of other Council committees. Bruce's
contributions to the work of the Council have been significant
in providing a strong foundation for the Council's primary
role in protecting the health and safety of the New Zealand
public in respect of services provided by medical laboratory
science practitioners.
In 2012 the Council welcomed three new members.
Kirsten Beynon is a registered Medical Laboratory Scientist
who is currently the Operations Manager of Canterbury
Laboratories. Kirsten has been appointed for three-year
term through to March 2015.
Karen Bennett is a registered Anaesthetic Technician who is
currently the Charge Anaesthetic Technician at Palmerston
North Hospital. Karen's appointment is also for a three-year
term to March 2015.
Dr Andrew Warmington is a registered Medical Anaesthetist
PO Box 11-905 Wellington 6142
phone +64 4 801 6250
HEALTH SECTOR REFORMS
Move to a Single Secretariat Model
The Council is proactively working with other health
regulatory authorities (RA's) to investigate and agree a
model whereby secretariat services would be shared across
all RA's. This is in keeping with the government's drive to
achieve value for money within public sector services.
The Medical Sciences Council already has firsthand
experience and knowledge of working within a shared
secretariat environment through our partnership relationship
with the Medical Radiation Technologists Board with whom
we currently own a shared secretariat (Medical Sciences
Secretariat). We are confident that the success we have
achieved through our current collaborative arrangement can
be adapted and applied to sharing secretariat services
across a larger number of RA's. We know that sharing
secretariat services not only achieves cost efficiencies but
also enhances operational effectiveness and efficiencies
across both corporate and regulatory functions.
We will keep you updated with progress on this project.
Strategic Directions 2012 - 2015
The Council has revised its core strategic planning
document. The Medical Sciences Council of New Zealand
Strategic Directions: 2012-2015 can be viewed on the
Council's website at www.mscouncil.org.nz
email mls@medsci.co.nz
www.mscouncil.org.nz
SEPTEMBER 2012
WELCOME TO THE
ANAESTHETIC TECHNOLOGY
PROFESSION
The Council would like to take this opportunity to welcome
Anaesthetic Technicians on board. Effective from 1st April
2012 the practice of Anaesthetic Technicians is subject to
the requirements of the Health Practitioners Competence
Assurance Act 2003 (the Act). The Medical Sciences
Council has accepted responsibility for the regulation of
Anaesthetic Technicians under the Act.
We would like to acknowledge the work done by the
Anaesthetic Technicians Advisory Committee members who
were appointed by the Council at the beginning of 2011 to
develop the detailed framework for the statutory regulation of
Anaesthetic Technicians. This work was made so much
easier through adopting a collaborative approach with the
New Zealand Anaesthetic Technicians Society (NZATS).
Their willingness to share their knowledge of the profession
and the systems and processes applied under the previous
self-regulatory model has been invaluable.
The Council is continuing to develop a number of regulationrelated frameworks for Anaesthetic Technicians. Information
updates will be posted and regularly reviewed through the
Council's website.
Want to know more about your
responsibilities as a registered
health practitioner?
The Council is planning to develop
information brochures/booklets that will
explain what it means to be a registered
health practitioner under the Act. To ensure
the information we provide is meaningful, we
would like to hear from practitioners who are
registered with the Council as to your
thoughts and ideas on what you need/want
to know.
Please send your comments to Mary
Doyle at mary.doyle@medsci.co.nz by no
later than 19th October 2012
PO Box 11-905 Wellington 6142
phone +64 4 801 6250
2012-2013 ANNUAL
PRACTISING CERTIFICATES
The Council would like to thank all medical laboratory
science practitioners for using the recently launched online
application system for renewing their 2012-2013 APC. We
hope the online system has made the APC renewal process
relatively easy for practitioners.
A few lessons have been learned from this first online
renewal period. One key issue is the requirement for
Medical Laboratory Technicians to enter the name of their
supervisor. Failure to do this will means your electronicallygenerated APC cannot be issued immediately. So when
applying for a future APC renewal, Medical Laboratory
Technicians will need to ensure they enter the name of their
supervisor at the time of applying. if you don't do this, the
issue of your APC will be delayed.
Now that the majority of medical laboratory science
practitioners have activated their login details we expect that
next year's APC renewal process will be lot smoother from
a staffing perspective. However to achieve this we do rely
on practitioners using the online facility to update any of their
contact details if applicable.
Your EMAIL ADDRESS is the critical link into activating your
"My Profile". If you have changed your email address since
you last used "My Profile" you will not be able to gain access.
Changes to your email address can only be done through the
Council office. So if you have changed/are changing your
email address you must let us know.
The inaugural issue of APC's for Anaesthetic Technicians
went reasonably smoothly and we would like to thank those
practitioners who submitted their applications within plenty of
time to allow staff to manually process a significant number
of first-time applications.
Development of an online APC application/renewal system
for Anaesthetic Technicians is an ultimate goal for the
Council. At this point in time we are unsure when this can
happen, but will keep you informed of any progress.
email mls@medsci.co.nz
www.mscouncil.org.nz