HTNA
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
7th September, 2000

MINUTES

Sequence of Events

1. The Chairman welcomed the members present and declared the meeting open at 0835.

2. Gayle Doe; Marj Van der Linden; Anthony Barnes; Graham Miller; Sandy Inglis; Tom Nalpon; Steve Goble; Bob Ramsay; Michael Graves; Dwayne Cananzi; Michael Dawe; Basil Murphy; Nynke Haitsma; John Kershler; Helen Mullins; Sue Thurston; Jeff Pinkham; Chris Mitchell; Jo James; Greg Bray; Greg Melbourne; Annabel Dominguez; Barrie Gibbons; Corry Van den Broek; Julie Youd; Darren Lacey; Christine Sharp; Raphael Fabris; David King; Dale O'Halloran; Nicole Heffernan; Peter Atkinson; Steve Dunscombe; Michael Hammond.

3. There were no apologies. Sam Costa, Katy Sissian, Glen Johnson and Alex Michalski nominated Greg Melbourne, Annabel Dominguez and Barrie Gibbons as their proxy.

4. Minutes of the Previous Meeting were accepted with no corrections.

5. Business arising from the Previous Minutes

a. HTNA Credit Card. The Association has a credit card however the maximum limit is only $1,000. It was proposed by the Treasurer "that he negotiate with the bank to increase the limit on the card and also investigate the possibility of obtaining a card that accrues frequent flyer points".
The treasurer reported that his actions to date to increase the limit on the credit card had been successful, with an increase to $5,000.00. On the mater of frequent flyer points the bank will not give frequent flyer points on a business credit card.
It was proposed, "the new Treasurer should continue to pursue the matter with other financial institutions".
Carried - Ongoing action required by the treasurer.

b. Nurse Attendant Course Examination. Christine Sharp has been working in conjunction with Linda Whyte to produce a list of questions that were presented at the AGM to all unit managers for comment. Any comments should be forwarded to Linda or Christine at the earliest opportunity.
Ongoing action required by Christine Sharp and the HTNA Training Board.

c. Course Accreditation. Proposed by Greg Melbourne "that all Hyperbaric Nurse training courses be accredited by a recognised training accreditation organisation".
Action required by Training board.

d. Certification Programme. It was proposed that "an Australian and New Zealand programme be developed through a training board and a steering committee be set up to formulate the concept".
Training Board developed - No further action required.

e. Medical Fitness. Propose by Christy Pirone "that the Hyperbaric Nurses Course Standard requirements be altered to allow nurses to complete the hyperbaric nurses course (omitting pressure exposure) without a ASNZ2299 Medical if their duties do not require them to work in multiplace". Has not been amended as yet.
Incorporated into draft Australian Standard - No further action required.

f. Specialty Certification. Propose by Christy Pirone "that the HTNA Hyperbaric Registered Nurses review the prospect of certification as a specialty nurse".
Carried - Ongoing action required by Christy Pirone and Training Board.

g. HTO Certification. Proposed by Barrie Gibbons "that HTNA certificates be issued to those persons who qualify as HTO's in accordance with Change One to the HOTFIG document".
Ongoing action required by the Secretary.

h. Proposed by Gayle Doe "the concept of an Australian wide standardised HBO staff uniform preferably in "Australian cotton" be investigated".
Unable to get supply. Individual units to investigate own needs - No further action required.

6. Treasurer's Report

7. Secretary's Report

8. President's Report

If members would like a copy of these reports, please contact Michael Hammond, the HTNA Secretary.
HTNA@bigpond.com

9. Motions on Notice

a) It is proposed by Nicole Heffernan that the HTNA Journal, 'Offgassing', be called a newsletter or magazine instead of a 'Journal' and that the constitution be altered in the following areas to reflect the change:
i. 8.1.f;
ii. 9.1;
iii. 11.1.e; and
iv. 20.5
Proposal rejected - No further action required.

b) It is proposed by Nicole Heffernan that an incentive be introduced for the best clinical/technical article published in Offgassing by a nurse/technician. A nominated Hyperbaric Physician would conduct the judging for the best-published article. The nominated judge would change each year. The incentive would be a waiver of conference fees (not including social events) for the conference held in that year.

The proposal was amended to 'A grading scale with a summary of each article will be given to all members to vote for the best published article appearing in the Offgassing journal. The incentive would be a book voucher given at the conference of that year.
New proposal carried - action required by Editor.

c) It is proposed by Dale O'Halloran that the Committee of Management be tasked, annually with contacting the current Corporate Sponsors to thank them for their sponsorship and ask if they are considering renewal of their sponsorship for the next year. This will keep contact with them at the highest level and ensure they are not dealing with people they may not know.
Carried - Action required by Secretary.

d) It is proposed by David King that the constitution of the HTNA Inc. be changed to expand the objectives of the Association. The changes are required to be made in three areas:

a. That 2.1 (c.) be changed to state: 'to educate and inform interested groups or individuals of the relevance of, or any advancement in, the field of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and diving safety'.
Carried - Action required by Secretary.

b. That 2.1 (d) 'to maintain and uphold the principle that the Association exists to cater for the interests of the full range of its membership so long as individual members interests are not in breach of the objectives of the HTNA Inc.'
Carried - Action required by Secretary.

c. That 2.1 be expanded to include:
(g) To actively encourage the practice of evidence based hyperbaric medicine, and to discourage the routine use of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the treatment of conditions not listed by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society or the Australia and New Zealand Hyperbaric Medicine Group as accepted indications for hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Proposal rejected - No further action required.

e) It is proposed by Peter Atkinson that the constitution of the HTNA Inc. be amended in section 3.1.d to read:

Honorary Life: awarded to any individual who has been employed in the hyperbaric field for at least 20 years and has made a significant contribution to the Association as decided at the AGM or SGM or by postal ballot as deemed necessary by the Committee of Management.
Motion withdrawn - No further action required.

f) It is proposed by David King that the constitution, (section 5) the title 'Committee of Management' be changed to 'Management Committee' and where any reference to 'The Committee' be changed to 'The Management Committee'. This should reduce any confusion when other elected or nominated committees are mentioned.
Carried - Action required by Secretary.

g) It is proposed by David King that the constitution of the HTNA Inc. be officially changed in section 7.1 to include:
a. (e) 'Officially convening or nominating a representative to convene any AGM or SGM'.
Carried - Action required by Secretary.

h) It is proposed by David King that the constitution of the HTNA Inc. be changed in section 13.1 to read:
a. 'With the exception of the AGM, any other meetings that are officially convened shall be called Special General Meetings (SGM) - a teleconference is a recognised format for a SGM. SGM's shall be convened when:
i. The Management Committee deems fit to do so, and
ii. The Management Committee receives in writing, from ten percent of the full members justification to convene a SGM. The justification shall state the purpose of the meeting and shall be signed by the convening members.'
Carried - Action required by Secretary.

i) It is proposed by David King that the constitution of the HTNA Inc. be changed in section 15.1 to read:

All official meetings shall be convened (as in 7.1.a above) and shall observe the following procedures:
a. 'The president, or in his/her absence, the Secretary or the president's nominated representative shall preside as chairman at any AGM or SGM to officially convene that meeting. If none of these are present, the members present shall elect a person to preside as chairman of that meeting'.
b. Remain same.
c. Remain same.
Carried - Action required by Secretary.

j) It is proposed by Dale O'Halloran that the constitution of the HTNA Inc. be changed in section 16.1 to read:

'The Association may by special resolution, alter its constitution at an AGM or SGM provided that:
a. 28 clear working days notice in advance of the date set for the meeting is given to the secretary, or his/her nominated representative, in the form of 'a notice of motion' and
b. 14 clear working days notice in advance of the date set for the meeting is then given, in writing, to those who are full members of the association and two thirds majority of those present at the AGM or SGM agree to the motion, or
c. When time constraints dictate, a majority of 90% of the full members present at any AGM or SGM, including proxy votes, agree to the notice of motion in question.
Points a and b carried. Point c withdrawn - Action required by Secretary.

k) It is proposed by Dale O'Halloran that the constitution of the HTNA Inc. (appendix 1) point 12 be changed to: 'When an amendment is before the meeting, discussion shall be confined to that amendment. No further amendment shall be proposed until the amendment before the Chairman has been disposed of unless a further proposed amendment had direct relevance to the amendment under discussion'.
Carried - Action required by Secretary.

l) It is proposed by David King that a committee be formed to establish a HTNA research Fund. The committee of three being nominated at the 2000 AGM and the mandate for the committee be set by the Committee of Management. The President then would delegate the responsibility to the committee as per the HTNA constitution (7.1.b).
Motion rejected - No further action required.

m) It is proposed by Greg Melbourne that a set of guidelines be introduced for the formulation of committees within the HTNA to follow. Attachment 1 - HTNA Committee Guidelines.
Carried - Action required by Secretary.

n) It is proposed by Peter Atkinson that the terms of reference formulated by the Steering Committee for the formulation of a Training Board be accepted and further developed by the Training Board Committee.
Carried - Action required by Training Board and Secretary. The presence of a Doctor on the committee was rejected.

o) It is proposed by Michael Hammond that a training board committee be elected at the 2000 AGM. Attachment 2 - Nomination form for Training Board Committee Member.
Due to a perceived lack of information distribution from state representatives, members present were given time to nominate further candidates. One new nomination was received.
Vote taken - Nurses Reps - Chris Mitchell (POW) and Christy Pirone (RAH)
Technical Reps - Dale O'Halloran and David King (Wesley)

p) It is proposed by Greg Bray that the HTNA investigate formulating a self or third party hyperbaric Facility Assessment Programme.
Carried - Action required by Greg Bray and report back within three (3) months.

q) It is proposed by Michael Hammond that the guidelines for ASM be incorporated into the constitution of the HTNA Inc. as appendix 2.
Proposal amended to 'the guidelines for ASM be incorporated into the constitution of the HTNA Inc. as an enclosure.'
Carried - Action required by Secretary.

r) It is proposed by Jeff Pinkham that the term 'Attendant' be discontinued for nursing staff and that all hyperbaric trained nursing staff be given the title of 'Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurse'.
Motion rejected - No further action required.

s) It is proposed by Jeff Pinkham that any staff unfit to work inside a hyperbaric chamber be identified on their certificate as 'Class 2' or 'Monoplace Only Registered Nurse' for example. The above title, 'Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurse' should only be given to those staff FULLY certified as able to work in all areas of a hospital based Hyperbaric Facility, mono- or multiplace.
Motion rejected - No further action required.

t) It is proposed by Jeff Pinkham that any hyperbaric patient in a hospital based facility requires the presence of a 'Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurse' within the chamber PLUS a minimum of 'Certified Hyperbaric Registered Nurse' outside the chamber, to be able to enter a pressurised environment.
Motion rejected - No further action required.

u) It is proposed by Jeff Pinkham that any issue unresolved at the AGM be voted on by postal or email votes directed to the President of the HTNA. The President and Secretary may then count votes for and against and announce the majority decision. Votes will naturally be identified and restricted to those members entitled to vote.
Motion withdrawn.

10. Other business

a) It was proposed by Peter Atkinson that John Kershler be awarded Life Membership to the HTNA.
Carried - Vote conducted through the Management Committee and State Reps.

b) It was proposed by Barrie Gibbons that a new State Rep for Queensland North be decided.
Carried - Penny Shorthouse was nominated and subsequently voted in as the state rep for Queensland North.

c) It was proposed by Steve Dunscombe that Membership fees be increased from $50.00 to $60.00 for Full Members and from $30.00 to $40.00 for Associate Members due to increasing costs.
Carried - Action required by Secretary. Amnesty period until 1st October 2000.

d) It was proposed by Michael Hammond that the period of grace for membership renewals be abolished and that membership is for the Financial Year only.
Carried - Action required by Secretary.

e) It was proposed by Peter Atkinson that the SF46 Reps remain the same as the draft is coming to a close.
Carried - Bob Ramsay and Michael Dawe will remain as reps until closure of the SF46 committee.

f) It was proposed by Peter Atkinson that the Christchurch hyperbaric facility be nominated to hold the 2002 Annual Scientific Meeting.
Carried - Action required by Christchurch and Secretary.

11. The Chairman declared the meeting closed at 1145.

Michael Hammond
Secretary HTNA
29/10/00