Welcoming our new Director of Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine

14 Apr 2021

Role at Murdoch

Dr Swann became the Director of Anaesthetics and Pain Medicine in the latter half of 2020, spending two full days a week on-site.

He has enjoyed his first few months at St John of God Murdoch Hospital, working alongside caregivers, patients and Murdoch's Chief Executive Officer, Ben Edwards, among others, and is looking forward to continuing in the role.

With a passion for all things safety and efficiency, Dr Swann already has plans to develop additional safety measures across the hospital.

“I’d like to do some work around the safety and quality of electronic medication stations. This is very important in everyday procedures and makes them easier and safer to use and more efficient,” Dr Swann said.

Anaesthesia in Emergencies

As Medical Team Lead for the Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT), Dr Swann played a big role in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

AUSMAT has previously deployed teams to Bali, Pakistan the Pacific Nations for a number of years, but 2020 was the first year a team was stationed in Australia.

“Myself and a team of dedicated professionals across a number of fields were deployed to Wuhan on an empty Boeing-747, to rescue stranded Australians in February of 2020," Dr Swann said.

“My kids didn’t want me to go, but I explained to them that if it were them stuck in another country during a pandemic, I would want someone to come and rescue them.”

The team were initially unsure where the flight would be landing, so touching down in Darwin was somewhat unexpected.

The establishment of the quarantine facility in Alice Springs was an incredibly large effort from the team.

Dr Swann is also a doctor for the Department of Fire & Emergency Services (DFES) and Urban Search & Rescue (USAR), where team members are deployed to scenes of emergencies all across WA.

Anaesthetics has always, and continues to play an important role in emergency medicine.

What other roles keep our Director of Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine busy?

Dr Swann is involved in many groups and councils outside of work.

He says that being involved in an array of different projects is very important.

“I can’t just turn up once and go home. I have to fully invest myself and I like to be kept busy,” he said.

As a Councillor for the AMA (WA), Dr Swann worked very closely with the rest of the council during the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis, advocating for appropriate PPE.

“It was clear, in anaesthesia and other professions, how exposed fellow colleagues in Australia and around the world were to the spreading disease,” he said.

“There were a lot of inconsistencies in advice from health departments across Australiam so I felt a strong need to advocate for all healthcare workers.”

The early involvement in advocating for appropriate PPE set many of the ground rules and procedures that are still keeping West Australians safe today.

Dr Swann has also been the game-day doctor for the Fremantle Doctors.

“Personally I’m a bit of a failed sportsman, I would have loved to play professional sport and I know it’s good for mental health,” he said.

“It is very high energy which I love. It’s definitely a passion of mine and I love being a part of it with all the guys.”

Some highlight opportunities working with the AFL include being the team doctor for the Indigenous All Stars Team in 2017 and helping with the COVID-19 ‘Hub’ system during the 2020 season.

Finally, Dr Swann is also a senior lecturer at the University of Western Australia, and enjoys educating and inspiring students of medicine.