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Lifetime achievement award for wound specialist

23 July 2008

WUWHS President elect Professor Gary Sibbald, Geoff Sussman and WUWHS President Professor Luc Teot.

Geoff Sussman from the Victorian College of Pharmacy, has received a lifetime achievement award from the World Union of Wound Healing Societies (WUWHS) for his contribution to the development of wound care as a specialty -- the only Australian to be recognised.

Mr Sussman was one of 26 academics to receive the award in recognition of their contribution to wound management in research, practice and education at the recent WUWHS world congress in Toronto, Canada.

Mr Sussman has been involved in wound management for over 30 years in clinical research, product evaluation, teaching and clinical practice.

He graduated from the Victorian College of Pharmacy in 1961 and has published extensively in journals, books and educational publications.

Mr Sussman treats patients in the wound clinic at the Austin Hospital and is undertaking clinical research in areas including wound care and ageing, wound pain, post-operative wound and incision management and drugs and healing. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to pharmacy, wound care and sport in 2006. He also consults at Victorian zoos.

"I'm humbled to be considered in the same ilk as my fellow recipients, especially as there are many who I have looked up to in my own work," Mr Sussman said.

"Although wound management research is moving forward, wound patients have continuously fallen through the cracks because of a lack of government funding."

"There is a high cost to the community of recurrent wound treatment -- costs that could be avoided if proper treatment was made affordable."

"I hope the congress and these awards help to further raise awareness of this enormous problem, and those people, who are often the most vulnerable in our community, get access to the treatment they need and deserve."

The WUWHS is a consortium of associations of health care professionals that aims to enhance the lives of persons with wounds worldwide with an emphasis on developing countries.

The executive team of the WUWHS includes opinion leaders in wound care from Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The world congress is held every four years however this is the first time that lifetime awards have been presented.

Find out about studying wound care at Monash visit the Postgraduate studies in wound care website.