Professor Hamdorf is an Upper Gastrointestinal and Bariatric Surgeon with special interests in upper GI surgery including laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypasses for the management of morbid obesity, pancreato-billiary & oesophago-gastric surgery, diagnostic and therapeutic laparoscopic anti reflux surgery and general surgery.
Professor Hamdorf was the inaugural Professor of Medical Education at The University of Western Australia and is a former Head of the School of Surgery at the University. He also has an active involvement in the affairs of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
He is a founding Director of the Bariatrics Australia Research Centre and founding Director of the Australian Institute of Weight Control. He established Western Surgical Health in Perth which is regarded as a leader in the team approach to morbid obesity.
He has many contemporary research and training interests both nationally and internationally. Academic interests include management of upper gastroinestinal malignancies as well as a prominent interest in surgical education, in particular skills training.
In 2019 Professor Hamdorf's significant service to medical education, and to medicine, in the field of bariatric surgery was recognised by his appointment as a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia.
Shannon is an academic researcher and a consultant in Patient Blood Management (PBM), having been in the field for over 30 years. He is a Doctor of Health Science (DHSc) and is adjunct Senior Research Fellow, Discipline of Surgery, Medical School, The University of Western Australia, and Honorary Research Fellow in Haematology, Department of Haematology, Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia. Since 2008 he has been on the National Blood Authority (Australia) PBM Guidelines Clinical Reference Group, and since 2016 on the Jurisdiction Blood Committee (Australia) PBM Guidelines Working Group. He is on the Executive Committee of the Western Australia PBM Group within The University of Western Australia. In 2021 he was invited to serve on the World Health Organization (WHO) External Working Group to develop a WHO Policy Brief and a WHO Guide for the implementation of PBM.
Shannon co-founded Australia’s first comprehensive Blood Conservation Program at Fremantle Kaleeya Hospital, Western Australia, in 1990. He was a consultant to the Western Australia Department of Health 2007-2013, during which time he co-designed and co-implemented the world’s first health-system- wide PBM Program. He was the senior author of the research paper studying the results of this program – the world’s largest study to date on the impact of a PBM program on clinical and economic outcomes – published in the medical journal Transfusion (2017). He was an Expert Panel member for the European Commission “European Union Guide for Member States on Good Practices for Patient Blood Management (EU-PBM).”
He has almost 50 peer-reviewed publications, 30 scientific abstracts, a book in three languages, another book on PBM in print, and eight book chapters, collaborating with local, national and international investigators. Shannon has been a Principal, Associate and Chief Investigator, on research grant clinical trials and studies. He is an invited reviewer for peer-reviewed medical journals and is a regularly invited lecturer locally, nationally and internationally on the subject of PBM. He has consulted to national and international health bodies and institutions, assisting with developing PBM programs and doing collaborative outcomes research. He was a founding member and is a Scientific Associate of the International Foundation for Patient Blood Management. In 2014 he received the Dr Kathleen J Sazama Award (USA) “For Outstanding Leadership in Advancing Patient Rights and Patient Blood Management.”
Shannon co-founded Australia’s first comprehensive Blood Conservation Program at Fremantle Kaleeya Hospital, Western Australia, in 1990. He was a consultant to the Western Australia Department of Health 2007-2013, during which time he co-designed and co-implemented the world’s first health-system- wide PBM Program. He was the senior author of the research paper studying the results of this program – the world’s largest study to date on the impact of a PBM program on clinical and economic outcomes – published in the medical journal Transfusion (2017). He was an Expert Panel member for the European Commission “European Union Guide for Member States on Good Practices for Patient Blood Management (EU-PBM).”
He has almost 50 peer-reviewed publications, 30 scientific abstracts, a book in three languages, another book on PBM in print, and eight book chapters, collaborating with local, national and international investigators. Shannon has been a Principal, Associate and Chief Investigator, on research grant clinical trials and studies. He is an invited reviewer for peer-reviewed medical journals and is a regularly invited lecturer locally, nationally and internationally on the subject of PBM. He has consulted to national and international health bodies and institutions, assisting with developing PBM programs and doing collaborative outcomes research. He was a founding member and is a Scientific Associate of the International Foundation for Patient Blood Management. In 2014 he received the Dr Kathleen J Sazama Award (USA) “For Outstanding Leadership in Advancing Patient Rights and Patient Blood Management.”
Professor Michael Leahy is a clinical and laboratory haematologist trained at Hammersmith Hospital (Royal Post Graduate Medical School), London and The Royal Free Hospital, London.
In 2008 at Fremantle Hospital, as part of a 5 year Western Australian Department of Health initiative, he started the PBM in Western Australia and subsequently contributed to the development of the program across all hospitals and to primary care in the state. The program rapidly led to improving patient outcomes and reducing health care costs.
He is currently Consultant Haematologist and Head of Department at Royal Perth Hospital and Director of Pathology for the East Metropolitan Region of Western Australia.
Current interests include the immune response to covid vaccination in patients with blood disorders and the coagulation abnormalities associated with trauma. Continuing contributions to the development of patient blood management across the world remains a high priority interest.
Professor Leahy has active role in Western Australian haematology and has furthered development of new molecular techniques for diagnosing and managing haematological disease,
He is also active in researching immune response to COVID-19 vaccination in haematology patients. In addition to this he is the Network Director of East Metropolitan Health Service PathWest Laboratory Medicine and Clinical Professor at the Schools of Pharmacology and Medicine and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Western Australia.
In his role as Head of Department at Royal Perth Hospital he has been committed to ensuring all patients have an opportunity to access new and novel therapies through joining clinical trials.
In 2008 at Fremantle Hospital, as part of a 5 year Western Australian Department of Health initiative, he started the PBM in Western Australia and subsequently contributed to the development of the program across all hospitals and to primary care in the state. The program rapidly led to improving patient outcomes and reducing health care costs.
He is currently Consultant Haematologist and Head of Department at Royal Perth Hospital and Director of Pathology for the East Metropolitan Region of Western Australia.
Current interests include the immune response to covid vaccination in patients with blood disorders and the coagulation abnormalities associated with trauma. Continuing contributions to the development of patient blood management across the world remains a high priority interest.
Professor Leahy has active role in Western Australian haematology and has furthered development of new molecular techniques for diagnosing and managing haematological disease,
He is also active in researching immune response to COVID-19 vaccination in haematology patients. In addition to this he is the Network Director of East Metropolitan Health Service PathWest Laboratory Medicine and Clinical Professor at the Schools of Pharmacology and Medicine and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Western Australia.
In his role as Head of Department at Royal Perth Hospital he has been committed to ensuring all patients have an opportunity to access new and novel therapies through joining clinical trials.
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Dr Hofmann is a Doctor of Medical Science and holds a Master’s Degree in Economics. His main activities are related to PBM research and the implementation of PBM programs in the public health sector and large hospital systems. With his background in health economics and outcomes research, he has specialised in the field of PBM.
He currently has academic affiliations in Europe and Australia:
Visiting Professor, Institute of Anaesthesiology, University Hospital Zurich
Professor, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Division of Surgery, University of Western Australia
Dr. Hofmann is well published in international peer-reviewed journals and is an invited speaker on PBM at numerous universities, medical schools, government agencies and international symposia.
Dr Kevin Trentino is a medical researcher at The University of Western Australia, and a senior health care analyst with The East Metropolitan Health Service, a network of five hospitals in Western Australia. Kevin is an expert in using data and statistical methods to drive patient safety and quality in hospitals. His research interests include patient blood management, statistical and machine learning models for clinical prediction, health economics, and benchmarking. Kevin has published over 30 peer-reviewed manuscripts, written book chapters, and is an invited reviewer for medical journals. He presents at international conferences and workshops on topics like hospital-acquired complications, cost of transfusions, and patient blood management. Kevin is currently the Australasian correspondent for SABM (Society for the Advancement of Patient Blood Management) and serves on the Executive Committee of the Western Australia Patient Blood Management Group.
Dr Isbister graduated from the University of New South Wales, Sydney. His specialist training in internal medicine and haematology was at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney and the Royal Postgraduate Medical School in London. Dr Isbister’s consultant career has been at Royal North Shore Hospital as Head of the Department of Haematology and Transfusion Medicine from 1983 and appointed Consultant Emeritus in 2004.
Dr Isbister has had a broad range of clinical, research and teaching interests in haematology, transfusion medicine and patient blood management. He has published over 150 articles, three textbooks and contributed chapters to major medical textbooks and monographs. He was chief examiner in haematology for the Royal College of Pathologist of Australasia from 1989-1995. Dr Isbister is a past-president of the Australian and New Zealand Apheresis Association and was president of the 8th congress of the World Apheresis Association in Perth in 2000.
He has served on National and International Advisory Committees and as chair of the advisory committee and board member of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (2004-2010). He is previous chair of the Australian National Blood Authority Patient Blood Management Implementation steering committee. He is a scientific advisor to the International Foundation for Blood Management.
Dr Isbister's professional contributions have been acknowledged by life membership of professional societies and several National and International awards, including the 2008 President's Award of the American Society for the Advancement of Blood Management and a distinguished service award from the Australian Red Cross Society. In 2014 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.
Dr Isbister has had a broad range of clinical, research and teaching interests in haematology, transfusion medicine and patient blood management. He has published over 150 articles, three textbooks and contributed chapters to major medical textbooks and monographs. He was chief examiner in haematology for the Royal College of Pathologist of Australasia from 1989-1995. Dr Isbister is a past-president of the Australian and New Zealand Apheresis Association and was president of the 8th congress of the World Apheresis Association in Perth in 2000.
He has served on National and International Advisory Committees and as chair of the advisory committee and board member of the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (2004-2010). He is previous chair of the Australian National Blood Authority Patient Blood Management Implementation steering committee. He is a scientific advisor to the International Foundation for Blood Management.
Dr Isbister's professional contributions have been acknowledged by life membership of professional societies and several National and International awards, including the 2008 President's Award of the American Society for the Advancement of Blood Management and a distinguished service award from the Australian Red Cross Society. In 2014 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.
Dr Hamish Mace is a specialist anaesthetist at Fiona Stanley Hospital, in Perth, Western
Australia. After qualifying as a doctor from the University of Otago, New Zealand and
moving to Australia, he completed specialty training in Perth before undertaking fellowships
in Obstetric Anaesthesia and Retrieval Medicine (Royal Flying Doctors of Australia) and
finally Liver Transplant Anaesthesia at the University of Toronto.
Dr Mace’s clinical interests include Hepatobiliary and Upper GI surgery, Obstetric
Anaesthesia and Acute Pain Management. He has a strong background in Perioperative
Medicine, having established a Perioperative Anaemia Clinic at Fiona Stanley and facilitated
a perioperative medicine programme at South Metropolitan Health Service. Smoking
cessation is also a big focus; Dr Mace developed a perioperative smoking cessation clinic
and appears in television advertising for the Cancer Council of Australia. He is a member of
the Western Australia Patient Blood Management group and is active in education,
advocacy and policy guidance.
Australia. After qualifying as a doctor from the University of Otago, New Zealand and
moving to Australia, he completed specialty training in Perth before undertaking fellowships
in Obstetric Anaesthesia and Retrieval Medicine (Royal Flying Doctors of Australia) and
finally Liver Transplant Anaesthesia at the University of Toronto.
Dr Mace’s clinical interests include Hepatobiliary and Upper GI surgery, Obstetric
Anaesthesia and Acute Pain Management. He has a strong background in Perioperative
Medicine, having established a Perioperative Anaemia Clinic at Fiona Stanley and facilitated
a perioperative medicine programme at South Metropolitan Health Service. Smoking
cessation is also a big focus; Dr Mace developed a perioperative smoking cessation clinic
and appears in television advertising for the Cancer Council of Australia. He is a member of
the Western Australia Patient Blood Management group and is active in education,
advocacy and policy guidance.
Clinical Professor Nolan McDonnell is a dedicated obstetric anaesthetist based at one of the busiest tertiary obstetric units in Australasia. He has had a long interest in the management of anaemia and bleeding in pregnancy, particularly in the optimisation of women prior to delivery and the targeted use of blood and blood products in major obstetric haemorrhage. He has been extensively involved in patient blood management activities, having been the medical co-director of patient blood management at King Edward Memorial Hospital in the early stages of its implementation. Through a multi-faceted approach to patient blood management, this hospital has seen an absolute reduction in red cell transfusions of over 50%, despite a large increase in the number of deliveries performed and their complexity. He sits on the KEMH Blood Management Committee and Chairs the St John of God Hospital (Subiaco) Standard 7 Blood Management Committee.
Dr Susan Pen graduated from the University of Western Australia with an honours degree in Economics with Health Science, before completing Medicine as a postgraduate. Having worked at Royal Perth for several years, she is now based at Fiona Stanley Hospital, where she is also undertaking Intensive Care Training. Susan has been a part of the WAPBM group since 2020, and is an advocate for PBM as the standard of care and the impact of medical resources in medical management.
Kylie Symons is a member of the WAPBM Group. Drawing from her experience in cardiothoracic, high dependency and intensive care nursing, Kylie’s expertise has pulled together a dynamic and innovative team to successfully implement an acclaimed automated and digitally enhanced PBM programme. Kylie’s motivation and enthusiasm for excellence in health care and her commitment as Aboriginal Health Champion is demonstrated by her ability to unite teams and health professionals of all levels to work collaboratively and in partnership. (Noongar translation: Yaka-dandjoo).
Kylie presented at Blood 2021on Electronic management of PBM data (REDcap)
Kylie presented at Blood 2021on Electronic management of PBM data (REDcap)
Recognised for Leadership Qualities by WA Nursing Excellence awards.
Varied senior Nursing positions over 45 years including Anaesthetics, Critical care adults and children.
Continues to work in both the PBM position and as a Clinical Nurse Consultant after hours two days a fortnight to maintain clinical skills.
Australian Nurse of the year (2016) for her work developing the first Private Blood Management Program and PBM department in the private sector in Western Australia. Recognised as a subject matter expert in PBM, representing Ramsay and Joondalup Health Campus at national and international events and conferences.
Project co-ordinator for the National Patient Blood Management collaborative 2015-2017.
Participant in WA WHO PBM workshop.
Passionate and committed to improving patient outcomes, sharing knowledge and developing people to reach their potential.
Varied senior Nursing positions over 45 years including Anaesthetics, Critical care adults and children.
Continues to work in both the PBM position and as a Clinical Nurse Consultant after hours two days a fortnight to maintain clinical skills.
Australian Nurse of the year (2016) for her work developing the first Private Blood Management Program and PBM department in the private sector in Western Australia. Recognised as a subject matter expert in PBM, representing Ramsay and Joondalup Health Campus at national and international events and conferences.
Project co-ordinator for the National Patient Blood Management collaborative 2015-2017.
Participant in WA WHO PBM workshop.
Passionate and committed to improving patient outcomes, sharing knowledge and developing people to reach their potential.
Claire McNally has been nursing for 28 years predominantly at Sir Charles Gairdner
Hospital (SCGH) in Perth, Western Australia. Claire completed both her Bachelor of Nursing in 1993 and her Master of Nursing in 2013, at Edith Cowan University.
For the past 20+ years, Claire has worked in day and overnight surgery, and for the last 16 years she has led the Pre-Admission Clinic and the Short Stay Unit at SCGH as the Clinical Nurse Specialist. During that time Claire was the long serving President of the Nurses Association of Short Stay Facilities (NASSF) in WA, as well as President of the Australian Day Surgery Nurses Association (ADSNA) and until recently, Claire represented Australian nurses on the General Assembly of the International Association for Ambulatory Surgery (IAAS).
In August 2021, Claire accepted a secondment to the Clinical Nurse Consultant role for Patient Blood Management. This has been an exciting opportunity for Claire and aligns strongly with her passion for pre-operative optimisation.
Hospital (SCGH) in Perth, Western Australia. Claire completed both her Bachelor of Nursing in 1993 and her Master of Nursing in 2013, at Edith Cowan University.
For the past 20+ years, Claire has worked in day and overnight surgery, and for the last 16 years she has led the Pre-Admission Clinic and the Short Stay Unit at SCGH as the Clinical Nurse Specialist. During that time Claire was the long serving President of the Nurses Association of Short Stay Facilities (NASSF) in WA, as well as President of the Australian Day Surgery Nurses Association (ADSNA) and until recently, Claire represented Australian nurses on the General Assembly of the International Association for Ambulatory Surgery (IAAS).
In August 2021, Claire accepted a secondment to the Clinical Nurse Consultant role for Patient Blood Management. This has been an exciting opportunity for Claire and aligns strongly with her passion for pre-operative optimisation.
General Practitioner, WA Iron Centre, Cloverdale, Perth
MBBCh BMedSci FCAI FJFICMI FANZCA
PCert Healthcare Management
Consultant Anaesthetist
Fiona Stanley and Fremantle Hospitals
PCert Healthcare Management
Consultant Anaesthetist
Fiona Stanley and Fremantle Hospitals
