Western Health Surgical Research Group (WestSuRG) is a surgical research collaborative started in 2020 at Western health involving surgeons, trainees, junior doctors and medical students. Its goal is to develop a supportive research environment and to encourage collaborative work with other Australian and International institutions.
Recent projects include COVID-Surg Week, an international prospective multicentre study which resulted in two high impact publications on the management of SARS-CoV-2.
Western Health very much has a focus on excellence. We believe that clinical research should be embedded in clinical care, a value which led to the development of WestSuRG. We hope to inspire all members of the surgical department to get involved in research and to bring better care to surgery and our patients. We are also keen to welcome new members into our research team with the hope that we can encourage more clinical projects to be carried out in all of the surgical disciplines at Western Health.
This year, our goal is to continue to support trainee led initiatives. WestSuRG supports the monthly Western Health General Surgery Research evening where researchers are encouraged to mentor more junior members. There are regular presentations on successful projects as well as research skills development including statistical teaching. We have recently been invited to present at the RACS Clinical Trials research ‘shark tank’ meeting for new multicentre trials. The SoCS Free OT (Sequential compression alone for the prevention of DVT in operating theatres) trial is a multicentre trial led by WestSuRG which has recently obtained ethical approval and will be launched across Australia.
WestSuRG continues to grow and we welcome anyone who is interested in joining our group to get in touch with us.
Please contact us at -- WHS-WestSurg@wh.org.au
