John H. Gibbon Jr Award

Ms COOK (Fisher) (15:04): My question is to the Minister for Health. Can the minister inform the house about this year's recipient of the John H. Gibbon Jr Award?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (15:05): I thank the member for Fisher for her question. She will be very interested in the answer. The John H. Gibbon Jr Award is an international award representing the highest honour in the medical field of perfusion. The award is presented to those who make outstanding contributions to the science and practice of extracorporeal circulation. I think the member for Fisher is probably one of the few people in this chamber who would actually be able to tell us what that is.

For the layperson, perfusion is undertaken by highly trained and skilled medical specialists and involves the use of the heart-lung machine during cardiac, cardiothoracic and other surgeries. This technique temporarily takes over the function of a person's heart and lungs, maintaining the circulation of blood and oxygen through their body. Put simply, the technique keeps the patient alive while operating on their heart or lungs.

I am very pleased and proud to inform the house that the recipient of this year's John H. Gibbon Jr Award is South Australia's—and, most importantly, the Flinders Medical Centre's—own Professor Rob Baker. The award is named after John H. Gibbon Jr, an American cardiac surgeon, who invented the heart-lung machine. The machine has allowed cardiac surgery to grow to the specialty that it is today.

The award was established over 40 years ago and recipients include international innovators and leaders in the field of cardiac surgery. Of significance, Professor Baker is the first ever Australia-based—and, indeed, South Australia-based—clinician to be awarded this highest of international honours in this field. He is a founding member of the Flinders Medical Centre's cardiac surgery department, which commenced undertaking cardiac surgery in 1992. He has been the Director of Cardiac Surgery Research and Perfusion in the Flinders Medical Centre's Cardiac and Thoracic Surgical Unit for more than 20 years, working to achieve better outcomes for patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

The unit undertakes around 600 cardiac and 200 thoracic procedures each year for patients from South Australia and the Northern Territory. It is widely recognised both nationally and internationally for its cardiac surgery program and it has particular expertise in cardiac surgery for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. The unit's research team, led by Professor Baker, has worked collaboratively on the local, national and international stage to achieve better outcomes for patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Professor Baker is a worthy recipient of the prestigious John H. Gibbon Jr Award. I commend Professor Baker for his dedication to improving and advancing his chosen medical field, contributing to saving the lives of countless patients. We are lucky to have him, along with his clinical colleagues, at the forefront of this medical specialty, working at South Australia's own Flinders Medical Centre.