Editorial policy

Who is each page written for?

Every guide has one reader in mind: an adult facing bone, joint or spine surgery in Australia, or a relative helping them through it. Each page tackles a single practical question, such as whether a spinal or a general anaesthetic is likely, or how to protect a numb arm at home. Topics that apply to any operation, like fasting and medicines, are covered on Dr Aly’s main website, drwalidaly.com.au, and this guide links there instead of repeating them.

Who writes the guides?

Altitude Creative’s health content team researches and drafts the pages for Dr Walid Aly. Drafting can involve AI writing tools. Before anything is published, a person compares each statement with the sources listed under it and checks every number against its source; patient information never goes into an AI tool.

Where does the information come from?

Current Australian guidance only: ANZCA (the college that trains specialist anaesthetists), the Australian Society of Anaesthetists, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and its clinical care standards, healthdirect, Victoria’s Department of Health, the National Blood Authority and patient leaflets from Australian public hospitals. Each page names its sources and their dates. We quote briefly, attribute and link, and never copy professional documents wholesale.

When sources disagree, the page gives the range or explains the difference, and points readers to their own hospital’s instructions. A figure we cannot confirm against a current source is simply left out.

Who checks the medical content?

A qualified clinician reviews each clinical page. The page header and the box at the end show the writer, the state of the clinical review (the reviewer’s name and qualifications when it is done, “In progress” before that) and the relevant dates. Some guides went live before their review finished; they say “Clinical review: in progress” until it is recorded. Reviews take place yearly at a minimum, and straight away when the underlying guidance changes.

What will you never see here?

The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and Ahpra’s advertising guidelines govern health advertising in Australia. In line with them, the guide does not publish any of the following:

• patient testimonials, reviews or stories, or praise for anyone’s clinical skill
• promises that a procedure or anaesthetic will be painless, free of risk or certain to work
• fees, prices, discounts or special offers
• brand names of prescription medicines
• comparisons that criticise other practitioners
• claims about Dr Aly that cannot be checked.

What the guide says about Dr Aly comes from the Ahpra public register. Material from his CV dated April 2024 always begins “His 2024 CV records”. No hospitals or practice locations are listed.

Are the pictures real?

The guide relies on type, colour and simple diagrams rather than photographs. Should illustrations ever be added, none will be passed off as a real patient, operation, hospital or Dr Aly himself.

Is the guide sponsored?

No. There is no advertising, no sponsored content and no payment from companies. Dr Aly, a Specialist Anaesthetist, publishes it, and every page carries that statement.

How do I report a mistake?

Use the contact page to tell us what looks wrong or outdated. We will look at it against current sources, fix the page if it needs fixing and change its date to match.