Anaesthetist awarded Churchill Fellowship

16 September 2024

Darwin anaesthetist Dr Edith Waugh to examine Indigenous health care

Dr Waugh will use her Dr Lena Elizabeth McEwan and Dame Joyce Daws Churchill Fellowship to explore culturally safe and sustainable perioperative care models for NT’s First Nations peoples. 

Despite healthcare improvements, First Nations people in the Northern Territory often experience worse post-operative outcomes due to delays and inappropriate care plans.

Dr Waugh's project will study the successful development of culturally responsive perioperative care in First Nations communities in Canada and New Zealand to inform the redesign of perioperative models of care in the Northern Territory, and nationally.

As a leader in perioperative medicine at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Dr Waugh develops initiatives that enhance access to high-quality perioperative care.

Throughout her career, Dr Waugh has received prestigious awards, including ANZCA’s Health Equity Projects Fund award, for exploring what Aboriginal people in the NT value during their operation journey. She also received the Patricia Mackay Memorial ANZCA Research Award for her work on postoperative outcomes in older patients in the NT.

Her Churchill Fellowship project aims to adapt successful international perioperative practices to improve care for First Nations people in the NT, setting a precedent for culturally sensitive healthcare practices across Australia.

For more information visit the Churchill Trust.