President’s Annual Report 2025

Ngā mihi nui kia koutou katoa,

On behalf of the Executive Committee, thank you for your ongoing support of the New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists – Ngā Ringa Tauwhiro o Aotearoa. Our strength lies in our members. The Society’s ability to advocate, support, and drive positive change relies on a large, engaged community that reflects the full breadth of our workforce. Your involvement amplifies our collective voice and ensures that anaesthetists remain a powerful force in shaping the future of healthcare in Aotearoa.

As always, I will reflect on the past year through our three pillars: advocacy, community and education. However, first I would like to acknowledge a small yet significant change for the NZSA – the adoption of our te Reo Māori name, Ngā Ringa Tauwhiro o Aotearoa. Having a te reo name reflects a fundamental aspect of our country’s heritage. It aligns the Society with many other health organisations that have done the same, and recognises our commitment to Te Tiriti, to equity and inclusion.

This report shares some key highlights from the past 12 months. For more regular updates, I encourage you to stay connected through our regular newsletters, magazine and website.

Advocacy

I mentioned how anaesthesia is often described as the ‘invisible profession’ in one of my blogs earlier this year, and how we know the reality—our work is at the heart of patient safety, surgical care, and critical interventions. Championing the value of our specialty has been central to our advocacy work this year.

Significant shifts in health leadership and policy, most notably the Government’s focus on embedding health targets into legislation and national-level strategy, have had a noticeable effect. It’s been the year of consultations, submissions and announcements. Since our last AGM, the NZSA has made 14 submissions, including on the Healthy Futures (Pae ora) Amendment Bill and the Putting Patients First Health Workforce Regulation Consultation. A copy of all submissions can be read on the website. These responses are guided by our commitment to a system that supports safe, high-quality, specialist-led anaesthesia care, and values and protects the people delivering it.

One major focus has been the increase in outsourcing of public elective care procedures to private facilities. Without strategic, collaborative and considered planning and patient selection across the motu, this risks exacerbating workforce shortages, increasing public hospital complexity, and entrenching inequity. We raised specific concerns directly with the Minister of Health when we met with him in June, leading to his support of a meeting with leadership at Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora. This meeting is scheduled for November.

The Society is also developing Principles for the Outsourcing of Elective Care to Private Facilities, and has engaged with stakeholders including Southern Cross, the Private Surgical Hospitals Association and the New Zealand Orthopaedic Association.

For those working in private practice, the NZSA sought legal advice on how we can further assist members within the realm of the Commerce Act. Leading to a member webinar, a new online resource, and ongoing work to understand the possibility of providing benchmarking information for anaesthesia rates.

The NZSA maintains regular engagement with key stakeholders. For example, our regular dialogue with ACC allows us to raise concerns affecting members. Most recently, this led to specific guidance from ACC towards invoice notes for anaesthetic modifiers that is now available for you to share with private hospitals if needed.

Supporting members to join working groups and committees is another vital part of ensuring our specialty is represented in important discussions. This year, the NZSA has been successful in nominating anaesthesia representatives onto the ACC working group reviewing procedure codes, and Dr Katie Benn onto the Endoscopy Guidance Group of NZ (EGGNZ) NBSP Advisory Committee and Steering Committee.

Most importantly, much of this work is informed by your insights. Your input is crucial. No matter where you work or what stage of your career you’re in, your voice matters.

Community

One of the greatest strengths of our profession is the camaraderie we share. The NZSA and joint ANZCA networks embody this, providing connection, guidance and leadership in their areas of expertise. I want to sincerely thank them all for their time, passion, and dedication to our community and patients.

Some highlights from across the networks include:

• The Environmental and Sustainability network is collaborating with the ASA and ANZCA on a joint statement regarding reticulated nitrous oxide in hospitals.
• The Paediatric Anaesthesia Network (PANNZ) held another successful meeting in Ōtautahi Christchurch, with planning underway for Tauranga in 2026.
• The Private Practice network has provided critical insight that continues to inform some of our advocacy efforts mentioned earlier.
• The Specialist Pain Medicine Physician Network conducted a workforce survey, gaining important insight into the future of national pain services.
• The Global Health Committee, through the PACT programme, now supports five fellows at various stages of their Diploma and Masters in Anaesthesia at Fiji National University. As well as facilitating over 30 volunteers to provide locum cover across the Pacific during the Pacific Society of Anaesthetists’ Meeting. I had the privilege of spending a week at Viola Hospital in Tonga – both a humbling and inspiring experience.

The NZSA holds a close relationship with the ANZCA NZ National Committee. Our annual joint meeting in June brought our two committees together to discuss future directions and shared concerns for our specialty, patients and healthcare sector.

Internationally, our strong relationships with ANZCA and the Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) allow us to continue supporting the SIGs, ACE and ANZTADC – the committee behind webAIRs. Our membership to the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) includes our voice in their efforts, representing our profession on the global stage.

In September, NZSA CEO, Kylie McQuellin, and I joined representatives from the anaesthesia societies of South Africa, Australia, the UK, Canada, and the USA in the stunning setting of Cape Town for the annual Common Issues Group meeting. Despite working in diverse healthcare environments, we are united by shared challenges, and the exchange of ideas and solutions has strengthened our collective resolve.

Education

One of the core aspects of our work is ensuring that patients understand their anaesthetic care. To support this, the NZSA launched a suite of patient education resources on myanaesthesia.nz that make it easier to communicate key anaesthesia concepts, risks, and procedures with patients in a clear, accessible way. More recently, we published a Pain Medicine Discharge Plan form adapted from those created by the ASA. These patient-focused resources were developed with guidance from anaesthetists and SPMPs throughout Aotearoa. Selected topics have been translated into languages suitable to help our diverse populations.

We also launched te Reo Māori learning resources in conjunction with the adoption of our te Reo Māori name. These exclusive member resources are designed to help you incorporate te reo into your everyday – regardless of where you are on your learning journey.

The NZSA has enjoyed meeting many of you at events throughout the year, including the PANNZ meeting, AQUA and the Annual Registrars’ Meeting in December 2024. As well as welcoming new trainees at some of the Part 0 courses earlier in the year. Looking ahead, our 2025 Aotearoa NZ Anaesthesia ASM in Kirikiriroa Hamilton is fast approaching. The local organising committee from Waikato have put in a remarkable amount of mahi to pull together what will be an engaging, insightful and of course, enjoyable meeting.

Looking forward

In mid-2025, the Executive Committee held a strategy day to review the Society’s strategic direction and priorities. Key focus areas identified include:

• Ensuring our specialty has a constructive voice in building our healthcare system.
• Identifying how we can assist you in gaining CPD relevant to the New Zealand context.
• Supporting our future workforce (watch this space – trainee event 2026 to come!).
• Progressing work on the RVG and other ways we can assist you in this space, as mentioned earlier.

Re-registration under the new Incorporated Societies Act 2022 is a priority. Changes to our constitution are necessary to comply with the requirements of the new Act. This also presented an opportunity to address any other areas of the constitution that may benefit from a review. I thank all who contributed feedback on the draft. We will vote on the new constitution at the AGM.

Thank you

The Executive Committee have welcomed new Trainee Representatives, Dr Anne Chiang from Palmerston North and Dr Dairshini Sithambaram from Auckland. Anne and Dairshini offer a valuable perspective on the committee for our trainee community – continuing the work of Dr Hannah Middleton and Dr Sarah Tomlinson. Our deepest thanks to both Hannah and Sarah for their insight and guidance during their time on the Committee. We wish them all the best as they continue in their training.

Spare time is at a premium for us all, and I cannot thank our volunteers enough. Across our networks, organising committees, those who have stepped in to help and of course, to my fellow Executive Committee members – e mihi ana i tā koutou tautoko, thank you for your support.

This past year has brought its share of challenges, but the dedication and professionalism of our anaesthesia community continue to inspire. Thank you for everything you do to support one another and our patients across Aotearoa.

This AGM will bring a close to my time as President. After three years in the role, it is an honour to hand over to Dr Jonathan Panckhurst. As I finish my time as President, I am filled with gratitude for the opportunity to represent our members and to work alongside such remarkable colleagues in anaesthesia, both here and abroad. I particularly wish to acknowledge Kylie McQuellin, Rebecca Burton, and Deanna Smit, whose hard work and good humour have made this role such a rewarding experience. I leave confident that, with Jonathan at the helm, the organisation is in excellent hands and poised for continued growth and success. Ma te kotahitanga e whai kaha ai tātou (in unity we find strength).

Ngā mihi,
Dr Morgan Edwards
President, New Zealand Society of Anaesthetists – Ngā Ringa Tauwhiro o Aotearoa