The Taskforce and the Infection Control Expert Group (ICEG) today announced the appointments of Dr Phillipa Hore and A/Prof John Ferguson as Co-Chairs for the new Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Panel.
Phillipa has worked as an anaesthetist in Melbourne for almost 30 years in a mix of public and private practice and has been an integral member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) Safety and Quality Committee, including five years as Chair. She is a member of the Safer Care Victoria COVID-19 Clinical Leadership Expert Group (CLEG) and a member of the Victorian Perioperative Consultative Council (VPCC).
John is a microbiologist and infectious diseases physician with Hunter New England Health and a conjoint academic with the Universities of Newcastle and New England. His interests include healthcare-associated infection and antibiotic resistance and stewardship. He was on the Writing Group for the National Antibiotic Guidelines for 12 years and Chaired the Healthcare-Associated Infection Advisory Committee at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare for five years.
The Taskforce thanks both Phillipa and John for agreeing to lead this important program of work to develop robust, consistent national guidance that addresses key IPC-related questions impacting clinicians providing health care for Australians during the pandemic.