AEPM Conference 2019
The 3rd Association of Emergency Physicians of Malta Conference
18th May 2019
Intercontinental Hotel, St. Julian's, Malta
AEPM President's Welcome note
18th May 2019
09:00 am
Dear colleagues and friends,
On behalf of the AEPM Conference organising committee it is my pleasure to invite you to the 3rd Emergency Medicine Conference organised by the Association of Emergency Physicians of Malta on Saturday 18th May 2019 at the Intercontinental Hotel, St Julians, Malta.
This year we have chosen the theme “Connections”. Emergency physicians have a central role in connecting with all facets of society including people at extremes of age and vulnerable patients, as well as with other medical specialties and with non-medical entities, both in-hospital as well as out-of-hospital to ensure that our patients will continue to receive the best health care possible.
We have prepared an enticing programme for you, with several notable local and foreign guest speakers who are experts in their field. There will be ample opportunity for interaction during the scientific sessions and we shall again hold the ever-popular SimWars competition. All this, together with a Pharmaceutical exhibition and a Scientific Poster exhibition is set to make this a conference to remember.
Registration is now open and I encourage you to apply as soon as possible as places are limited. Applications are available in the Registrations tab on this website.
We look forward to seeing many of you in May.
Dr. Anna Spiteri
AEPM President
Interview with Dr. Mario Tabone Vassallo
Voting
Programme
The Speakers
Plenaries
Dr. Cassar is a consultant Emergency Physician at the Emergency Department of Mater Dei Hospital. Throughout her career she has worked and held posts in various areas related to Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Resuscitation. She is a founder member and past President of the Association of Emergency Physicians of Malta, a founder member and past President of the Malta Resuscitation Council and past Honorary Secretary of the Association of Surgeons of Malta. She was the first Training Co-ordinator in Emergency Medicine in Malta and for a number of years an examiner for the Membership exam of the Royal College Of Emergency Medicine UK and the European Board Fellowship exam.
Dr Mary Rose Cassar MD FRCSEd FERC
Dr Taj Hassan is a consultant in Emergency Medicine at the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and also President of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (2016 - 2019).
He has previously held posts at NHS Improvement as Associate Medical Director for Urgent & Emergency Care, national RCEM Lead for Ambulatory Emergency Care and co-author of the national Directory of Ambulatory Emergency Care, Vice President of the RCEM and was Director of eLearning at the College (2005-2012) leading on the development of the eLearning platform that is now RCEMLearning.
He has led on the development of the new strategy RCEM Vision 2020 which focuses on the key themes of Staffing, Systems & Support. His major interests include EM system design, creating workforce resilience & sustainability and developing leadership skills for emergency physicians.
He chaired the College’s landmark strategy in 2013 – Creating successful, satisfying and sustainable careers in Emergency Medicine. Internationally, he has been involved in running leadership training programmes for the International Federation of EM (IFEM) and was Chair of the IFEM group that developed the position paper on Sustainable working Practices for the Emergency Physician in 2014.
He has also recently led initiatives to help develop Emergency Medicine in his country of birth, Pakistan as well as supporting other countries where the specialty is still evolving. He was elected in 2018 to represent Europe on the Board of the International Federation of Emergency Medicine.
Dr Taj Hassan PRCEM MD MRCP DA FRCSEd
Sarah qualified from Medical School in 2003. She decided to peruse a career in emergency medicine and began a formal training rotation in the midlands region. In 2011 she completed a one year fellowship in Geriatric Emergency Medicine (GEM), during which she learnt about the “geriatric giants”, comprehensive assessments, the inpatient and community services available for older adults and how this could be applied to care in the Emergency Department (ED). She now works as a Consultant Emergency Physician in Northampton, England. Her particular interests are trauma care for older people and end of life care in the ED.
Dr Sarah Vince
Dr. Andrew Aquilina is a graduate of the Malta Medical school. He has trained in Anaesthesia and Intensive care in St. Luke's Hospital and Sheffield, UK. He has been working as a Consultant Anaesthetist and Intensivist in Mater Dei Hospital since 2006. He is part-time lecturer in the Department of Surgery in the University of Malta.
Dr Aquilina set up the the local training programme in Anaesthesia during his time as a post-graduate training coordinator from 2008 to 2014. He has a special interest in physiology especially when applied to the critically ill.
Dr. Andrew Aquilina
Prof. Gatt is a clinical haematologist after undergoing specialist training in the UK. His academic rank is that of Associate Professor and he is the current Head of Department of Pathology at the University of Malta.
He followed a research MD on the utility of Global Assays of Coagulation in Anticoagulation, Thrombotic Disorders and Liver Disease at the University of Sheffield under the mentorship of Professor Michael Makris. After his research he was appointed as Consultant Haematologist at the Royal Free Katherine Dormandy Haemophilia and Thrombosis Centre. There he was appointed Lead Clinician in Anticoagulation and Thrombosis.
In 2010 Prof. Gatt started working in Malta and has since been leading the clinical and research aspects of Coagulation Medicine and is the Director of the Malta Centre for Bleeding and Thrombotic Disorders. The latter is an EU accredited Haemophilia Treatment Centre. As a Fulbright Scholar in 2013, he researched the use of thromboelastography in patients undergoing liver transplantation at the Mayo Clinic Rochester Minnesota US. He has mentored several undergraduate and postgraduate students on haemostasis/haematology research projects and is especially interested in anticoagulants, coagulopathy of liver disease and coagulation tests. Prof. Gatt sits on the editorial boards of Thrombosis Research and the Malta Medical Journal.
Profs. Alex Gatt
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Consultant General and Neuroradiologist
Visiting Lecturer, Department of Medicine, University of Malta
Member of Spine Neuroradiology Committee, European Society of Neuroradiology (ESNR).
Dr. Reuben Grech
MD MSc FRCR EDiNR MRCSEd FFR RCSI EDiR EDiHNR
Dr. Monique Abela graduated as a Doctor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Malta in 2007 and has specialised in Transfusion Medicine. She successfully read for a Masters degree in Transfusion and Transplantation Sciences with the University of Bristol and is a Fellow of the Malta College of Pathologists. She has extensive work experience in the local National Blood Transfusion Service and the Mater Dei Hospital Blood Bank, and also worked at the Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation (Amsterdam) and the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service (Belfast). Her interests include blood donor care, as well as clinical transfusion medicine pertaining to antenatal screening and massive haemorrhage. She is a published author and an active member in various working groups of the European Blood Alliance and of the International Society of Blood Transfusion.
Dr. Monique Abela
What is it?
Graduated Doctor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Malta in 1985. He has been working in Cardiology since 1990 at St. Luke's Hospital and then Mater Dei Hospital. Clinical cardiac electrophysiology fellow at St. Mary's Hospital, London in 1995-96 and then introduced a resident service in electrophysiology in 1996.
Introduced implantable defibrillators and cardiac resynchronisation devices in 1999. Presently Consultant Cardiologist and electrophysiologist in the Department of Cardiology.
Dr. Oscar Aquilina
MD MSc FESC FRCP FRCPE
Dr. Christopher Zammit is a Respiratory and General Medical Specialist. He graduated from the Malta Medical School, and has work and training experience from Malta, London and Oxford.
His area of interest includes pleural medicine and interventional pulmonology. Currently working as a Consultant at Mater Dei Hospital, he runs a Pleural and Rapid Access Lung Cancer clinic and helps coordinate the Thoracic Ultrasound service.
Dr. Christopher Zammit
Dr. Liam Mercieca has recently completed his Dermatology specialist training in Malta and a clinical fellowship in Manchester. He is based in a busy Dermatology department at Sir Paul Boffa hospital catering for a variety of dermatological presentations including acute cases needing inpatient care.
Dermatological conditions account for around 3% of all presentations in the emergency department. Being familiar with these common cases is essential for the Emergency Physician.
Dr. Liam Mercieca
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Dr. Anton Grech graduated as Doctor of Medicine from the University of Malta in 1992. He became a Member of the Royal college of Psychiatrists, UK, in 1997, and he became a Fellow of the same college in 2011. In 1999 he obtained an M.Sc. in Psychiatry from King’s College, University of London. He trained and worked at the Maudsley Hospital in London, between 1994 and 1998. During 1998 he was also a Clinical-Academic Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, University of London. Between 1999 and 2002 he was Honorary Researcher within the same Department. In 1999 he proceeded to Malta, where he was Senior Registrar in Psychiatry until 2003, when he was appointed Consultant Psychiatrist with a special interest in Addictions and Neuropsychiatry. In 2000 he was appointed Lecturer in Department of Psychiatry of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Malta, and in 2008 he was appointed as Senior Lecturer within the same Department. In 2011 he was appointed as Senior Research Fellow in the Bedfordshire Centre for Mental Health Research in association with the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. In 2011 he was also appointed as Clinical Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry in the Ministry of Health, Malta. His main research is on the aetiology of schizophrenia, and it was based at the Institute of Psychiatry London and at the University of Malta. He has published in international psychiatric journals, and presented and chaired in international psychiatric conferences. In 2008 he was chosen as one of the 30 European Scientists to be featured in the book ‘Portraits of Science; Scientists of Tomorrow’, published by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, to commemorate its 30th anniversary. In 2013 he was appointed Chairman of 'Fundazzjoni Kenn Ghal Sahhtek', a foundation in collaboration between Community Chest Fund and the Government of Malta. He is a member of various national boards and commissions. He believes a lot in using the media to educate on mental health, and for the last years in Malta he conducted radio and TV programmes on issues related to mental health.
Dr. Anton Grech
The Paediatric patient
Dr. Andre Gat qualified MD from the University of Malta in 2003 and was appointed Consultant Radiologist in Malta in 2012. He is a general radiologist with a special interest in Paediatric Imaging. He spent 7 years undergoing specialist training in the UK as part of the East of Scotland training rotation and has previously held a Consultant post covering NHS Fife and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children Edinburgh. He introduced several new procedures in Malta such as the use of MRI for small bowel studies, foetal MRI and the use of air insufflation for intussusception reduction.
Dr. Andre Gatt
Julie graduated from the University of Malta in 2002 and in 2004 entered the world of surgical training. She is a Paediatric Surgical Higher Specialst Trainee at Mater Dei Hospital. Julie also worked at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and St George's NHS Trust in London as a clinical fellow.
Dr. Julie Galea
Dr. Mangion graduated from the University of Malta in 1989 and joined the Paediatric department in 1993. She obtained the MRCP in 1996, and in 2011, she obtained a Masters in Public Health.
Dr. Mangion is Consultant Community Paediatrician with a special interest in safeguarding children, and is the lead professional at Mater Dei and inthe community for child protection. She works in close collaboration with other agencies involved in this field and contributes to the formulation of policies and legislation relative to theis sector. She is also regularly involving herself in teaching of under and postgradaute students.
Dr. Mariella Mangion
The Geriatric patient
Dr Sarah Debbatista is an Emergency Medicine Higher Specialist Trainee at Mater Dei Hospital. She has a passion for her work and loves attention to detail - one of her hobbies consists of designing cards! Sarah has found a great interest in Geriatrics, and is currently leading a local audit which will enable us to understand better why there is a need for the speciality of Geriatric Emergency Medicine.
Dr. Sarah Debattista
Sarah qualified from Medical School in 2003. She decided to peruse a career in emergency medicine and began a formal training rotation in the midlands region. In 2011 she completed a one year fellowship in Geriatric Emergency Medicine (GEM), during which she learnt about the “geriatric giants”, comprehensive assessments, the inpatient and community services available for older adults and how this could be applied to care in the Emergency Department (ED). She now works as a Consultant Emergency Physician in Northampton, England. Her particular interests are trauma care for older people and end of life care in the ED.
Dr. Sarah Vince
Antoine Vella is a Consultant Geriatrician, working in Acute as well as in Long-term Elderly-care settings and in Community Geriatrics. He has a special interest in Rapid Access Clinics and Continence management and is a co-leader of the Special Interest Group within the European Geriatric Medical Societies Organization (EUGMS). He is Senior Visiting Lecturer with the University of Malta and an Associate Dean with Barts and The London school of Medicine and Dentistry.
Dr. Antoine Vella
Plenaries
Dr Anna Spiteri is a Consultant Emergency Physician at Mater Dei Hospital in Malta. She has a great passion for medical education of doctors at all stages of their training. She is a visiting assistant lecturer at the University of Malta Medical School, Foundation Training Programme Director with the Foundation School and a Training Programme Coordinator for Emergency Medicine at Mater Dei Hospital. She is currently involved in updating the national curriculum of Emergency Medicine in Malta.
Dr Spiteri is one of the founder members of the Emergency Medicine Examination Reference Group for Europe (EMERGE) as well as a lead examiner for the European Board Examination of Emergency Medicine (EBEEM) and she heads the MCQ writing group for this exam. She is also an examiner for the Royal College of Emergency Physicians (UK) fellowship exam. She is the Malta representative on the Emergency Medicine Section of the UEMS.
Dr Spiteri is the current President of the Association of Emergency Physicians of Malta.
Dr Anna Spiteri
Dr Konrad Borg is a Consultant Emergency Physician who caught the ultrasound bug in 2006 and has been pioneering POCUS (Point of Care Ultrasound) since. He is ultrasound lead in the Emergency Department and set up MPOCUS (Malta Point of care Ultrasound) in 2013, developing ultrasound training programs and organising courses. He has a PgD in Emergency and Critical Care US and looks forward to continue working towards his MSc.
Known to put an ultrasound probe on every patient he sees, he was initially mocked by colleagues. He now delights seeing them embrace the future of medicine as they acknowledge the error of their previous ways.
Dr Konrad Borg
Dr Jeffrey Bonnici is a Resident Specialist in Emergency Medicine with special interest in Clinical toxicology at Mater Dei Hospital. He is a Member of the European Association of Poison Centres and Clinical Toxicologists and is the lead researcher for the Euro-DEN Plus project collecting data on recreational drug use. He is also vice-president of MAM and current president of the ED wellbeing committee.
Dr. Jeffrey Bonnici
What's new in . . .
Past Events
Emergency Medicine Day
27th May 2019
This year the AEPM Conference will be linked to the European Emergency Medicine day, which happens to be on the 27th May 2019!
Visit the EM-day website on: https://emergencymedicine-day.org/
The Venue
