Oral Presentation ANZOS-OSSANZ-AOCO Joint Annual Scientific Meeting 2017

In March 2017 OSSANZ held a National Public Bariatric Surgery Summit recognising that access to publically funded bariatrics was inequitable when compared with private access.

The summit aimed to explore barriers in access to public bariatric surgery and identify common themes, examine current services and identify strengths and weaknesses and ultimately determine what consensus could be achieved on a National Framework within which advocacy for increased services could be structured.The findings of the summit suggested an agreed national framework was possible with key defining points that must be addressed being

• Referral pathways
• Selection / eligibility criteria
• Model of care with multidisciplinary preoperative work up & pre clinic education
• Data collection
• Guidelines for provision of revisional surgery

Broadly, the group felt the parameters of each element should be flexible to a degree to accommodate the specific circumstances of a given community / institution.

However there was strong consensus that the following components be standardised

• Selection and eligibility criteria
• Data collection with mandatory contribution to the National Bariatric Registry

The work will now be taken forward to an OSSANZ task force to develop the framework and begin advocacy strategies with government and hospital governance.