(1) The University of New England undertakes the teaching, examinations and research in the field of human anatomy. (2) The conduct of these activities are only carried out in the School of Rural Medicine’s Anatomy Facility using bodies donated for teaching and research purposes. These activities are undertaken in accordance with the Anatomy Act 1977 and the Human Tissue Act 1983. (3) This policy provides a framework for the management and utilisation of the University's Anatomy Facility and its Dissection Room in respect to the reception, handling, storage, use and disposal of donated cadavers. (4) This Rule must be read in conjunction with the associated Human Anatomy Procedures. (5) This Policy applies to all (6) The University recognises the significant contribution made by those who donate their bodies for study, teaching and research purposes with the support of their families and is committed to treating all donors entrusted to its care with the utmost respect, dignity and professionalism. (7) In keeping with this commitment, the University requires its employees and (8) The use of human cadaveric material for teaching and research is a privilege, not a right. (9) No anatomical specimen or cadaveric material shall be removed from the laboratory for any reason except on inter-institutional loan or disposal of the remains at the end of its use. (10) The governance and practices of the discipline of anatomy are overseen by the UNE anatomy license holder(s). The UNE anatomy license holder(s) receives advice on the management of anatomy from the: (11) Licences to conduct anatomical examinations are issued by NSW Health in accordance with the Anatomy Act 1977. (12) NSW Health may also revoke a licence to conduct anatomical examinations. (13) The University may only conduct anatomical examinations when in possession of a valid and current licence. (14) The holder of the Licence to conduct anatomical examinations must comply with the standards set out in the Anatomy Act 1977 the Human Tissue Act 1983 and the Public Health Act 2010. (15) The UNE anatomy license holder(s) is responsible for monitoring the University's compliance within these licensing provisions, and ensuring that the University retains, or where necessary, updates its licence to conduct anatomical examinations. (16) Access to the Anatomy Facility is restricted to: (17) The anatomy facility includes physical and online spaces with differing levels of security. Spaces must be secured at all times and only accessible by key card swipe access, key, password or user approved access. Access is limited to users associated with the education and research of human cadavers as provided from the UNE Body Donor Program. All users must be authorised by the UNE anatomy license holder(s) to gain access. The appropriate level of access to various users is outlined below: (18) Students, contractors and visitors approved by the anatomy license holder(s) but do not have access to the anatomy laboratory must sign in manually, and must be supervised by an anatomy employee at all times when in the anatomy facility; (19) Under no circumstances are users allowed into the facility outside of education, research, maintenance and servicing, or emergency service reasons. Visitors who have not been approved by the anatomy license holder(s) are not permitted to use the anatomy facilities. (20) Breach of this policy will result in appropriate disciplinary action. (21) Equipment used to store bodies and/or human tissue (e.g. fridges, specimen tanks, human tissue bins) are only to be accessed by anatomy employees, or those under their immediate supervision. Under no circumstances is any other individual to touch, or otherwise access, this equipment. Any attempt to gain unauthorised access to body, and/or human tissue storage equipment, whether the attempt is successful or not, will be considered to be in breach of this Rule and may be subject to disciplinary action. (22) All individuals must complete a formal induction prior to being admitted to the UNE Anatomy Facility. At a minimum, this induction will cover: (23) In addition to the, above, individuals who are likely to see, and/or handle, bodies or human tissue while in the Anatomy Facility must, prior to entering the facility, complete a more comprehensive induction covering: (24) The anatomy license holder(s) will be responsible for ensuring processes are in place to provide all users of the Anatomy Facility with the necessary induction. The Anatomy Lab Manager and senior academic of the Facility are responsible for carrying out the required inductions. A record will be kept of the names of all participants who complete the induction program. (25) The UNE anatomy license holder(s) will be responsible for overall management of the UNE body donor program and the relevant administrating officer will carry out the procedural and legislative steps of this process. (26) Communication with prospective donor or next of kin during donor registration, reception of cadaver, disposal of bodies/body parts and communicating with family members in care of ashes will be handled by the administration officer and technical officer. The official authorisation of this process will be the responsibility of the UNE anatomy license holder(s). (27) Staff and (28) In the event that the University wishes to retain a body, human body part, or human tissue sample beyond the approved retention date, the University must obtain approval to do so, in accordance with the Anatomy Act 1977 and any of its associated legislation. Requests for extended retention of bodies or human tissue samples must be lodged well in advance to ensure approval is obtained prior to the expiration of the initial approved retention date. (29) As part of its schedule or as required, the Internal Audit may request access to administrative information associated with the UNE Anatomy Facility. Staff and (30) The School of Rural Medicine acknowledges that there may be certain cultural beliefs among Indigenous staff or (31) In an event of distress when a staff member or (32) All (33) (34) In the event that a student wishes to record an image of a body or human tissue for teaching or research purposes he/she must obtain written approval in accordance with the procedures associated with this Policy. Anatomical sketches, such as those used for course notes, are exempt from this requirement on the proviso that they do not depict personal information as defined by the Health Records Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW). (35) Permission to record an image of a body, body part, or human tissue may be granted by the UNE anatomy license holder(s) or their delegate, providing that the image does not contain any personal or identifying information, and only where they are satisfied: (36) Where permission to record an image is granted, the image must be used solely for the approved purpose. Under no circumstances is the image to be used in any manner which goes beyond the scope of the approval. (37) All (38) Failure to follow the reasonable directions of supervisors, or other authorised University employees (e.g. Safety, Security and Information Officers, or any employee acting in relation to the performance of their duties as a University employee) is considered to be a breach of this policy, as is any subsequent action which directly, or indirectly, undermines the intent of those directions. (39) Internal disciplinary action will be managed as stated in the UNE Staff Enterprise Agreement. (40) Participation in any activity which directly or indirectly breaches State or Federal law, may be subject to internal and/or external disciplinary proceedings. Where observed, the University of New England will report illegal activity to the appropriate authorities (e.g. the Police). The University's Director Governance and University Secretary, the Director Estate and Built Environment and the Head of Safety, Security and Information, must be informed in all cases of potential offences under the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) and these persons will be responsible for liaison with external bodies including law enforcement agencies, should an event arise. (41) The Executive Dean Faculty of Medicine and Health (EDFMH), makes this University policy. (42) The UNE anatomy license holder is authorised to administer this Policy and to coordinate creation of Procedures to apply under this Policy. The Procedures must be consistent with this Policy. (43) This is a Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer policy and vested authority is granted for decisions made under this policy to the nominated parties. The Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer retains discretion over decisions made under this policy. (44) All UNE Representatives and Students must observe this Policy. (45) This policy is consistent with the requirements of the Anatomy Act 1977, the Human Tissue Act 1983, and the Public Health Act 2010. (46) This Policy operates as and from the Effective Date. Previous policies on human anatomy are replaced and have no further operation from the Effective Date of this new Policy. (47) Notwithstanding other provisions of this Policy, the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer may approve an exception to this Policy where the Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer determines the application of the Policy would otherwise lead to an unfair, unreasonable or absurd outcome. (48) Anatomical examination refers to the examination of a body, body part, or section, including the dissection of a body, body part, or section, for the purposes of educational purposes. This excludes a formal forensic medical post mortem examination. (49) Anatomy employee refers to a UNE Representative employed specifically by the School of Rural Medicine who requires access to human bodies, body parts, sections, and/or tissue for the purposes of teaching anatomy for educational purposes connected with medicine or science. (50) Anatomy Register refers to the official register kept and maintained in accordance with relevant legislation and the university Records Management Rule. (51) Body refers to a dead human body, which may also be referred to as a cadaver. (52) Body part (sectioned part) refers to a separated portion of a human body. (53) Confidential relates to the non-disclosure of "personal information" as described within the NSW Health Records and Information Privacy Act, 2002. (54) Human tissue refers to an organ, or other part of a human body. (55) Licence holder refers to a person approved by the Department of Health as the anatomy Licence holder. (56) Receiving Officer refers to the UNE staff member, or designated support staff member, who has completed induction training in relation to the reception of a body into the UNE Anatomy Facility. (57) Retained Body Part Register refers to the most current version of the official register, filed within the University's (58) Senior next of kin is defined as per the Anatomy Act, 1977. (59) Vaccination Standards means any UNE Representative or Student who would handle cadaveric specimens must provide evidence that they have been immunized against the following, as outlined by NSW Health (procedures relating to "Occupational assessment, screening and vaccination against specified infectious diseases"):Human Anatomy Policy
Section 1 - Overview & Scope
Section 2 - Policy
General
Governance
Licences to Conduct Anatomical Examinations
Access to Anatomy Facilities
Access to Human Body, Section and Tissue Storage Equipment
Induction
Reception, Storage, Handling, Tracking and Disposal of Bodies/Human Tissue
In the event of distress
Photographs and Images of Human bodies, Sections, or Tissues
Disciplinary Proceedings
Section 3 - Authority and Compliance
Authority
Compliance
Section 4 - Definitions
View Current
This is the current version of this document. To view historic versions, click the link in the document's navigation bar.
For the purpose of this policy the following definitions apply.