A new national expert panel has been established to ensure front-line doctors and nurses have more say in infectious control measures in a bid to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.

The move comes just a few weeks after a row erupted between doctors and the Federal Government’s Infection Control Expert Group (ICEG), which flared after chair Professor Lyn Gilbert appeared to publicly blame them for the high rates of healthcare worker infection.

The new Infection Protection and Control (IPC) panel includes doctors working in primary care, emergency medicine, women’s health, critical care and paediatrics. 

GP Dr Penny Burns, a senior lecturer in general practice at Western Sydney University and a disaster management specialist, is the primary care representative.