Over the last two years, our Rotary District has raised over $50,000 to fund an Interplast team.  Last week D9685 Interplast Chair, David Hart was informed that the team funded by D9685 will go to Kirabati (pronounced “Kirabas”).  Interplast goes there about every 18 months and takes two doctors, two anaesthetists, and two theatre sisters.  The team will be led by Miklos Pohl who is a regular Interplast volunteer.  The team will leave probably in the first half of next year.
 
And the news gets even better.  D9685 will also fund a physiotherapist from Fiji to come to the Royal Hobart hospital for skill upgrading.  She is coming to Hobart in the next few weeks.
 
Interplast sends a big thank you to all clubs in the district and particularly to those clubs who made a contribution.  Read on for more detailed information.
 
The two programs are outlined below. ​
 
​1. Kiribati surgical program
 
Interplast has been working in Kiribati since 1984, sending surgical and training teams every 1-2 years as required. The focus of the overall program has been on provision of specialist plastic and reconstructive surgical services and training of local surgeons, and more recently, specific training for ward nurses focused on post-operative care.
 
This program will take place in March/April 2016, and will involve sending a team of 6 (two surgeons, two nurses and two anaesthetists) to the Tungarru Central Hospital in Tarawa, the capital of Kiribati. The team will spend two weeks undertaking a large number of plastic and reconstructive surgical cases, while at the same time providing invaluable training to local surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses. Kiribati does not have any specialist surgeons, and so these patients would not be able to be treated locally without our visiting team. We would expect from this program that approximately 100 patients will be seen, and around 70-80 operations will take place - including cleft lip and palate, burns scar contracture releases, tumours, trauma reconstruction and other congenital or acquired deformities.
 
The last time that our team visited Kiribati (April 2014), the Australian High Commission there had a short video made that included some focus on our team and their work. You can see the film here:
 
 
We will be able to provide your district with lots of photos and stories of the work in Kiribati - both before, and after the visit.
 
The funding utilised for this visit will be approximately $52,000.
 
​2. Hobart training placement for Fijian physiotherapist
​Interplast has been working in Fiji since 1983, sending up to 5 programs each year, including surgical visits to Lautoka, Suva and Labasa, as well as a variety of training programs including surgical skills, anaesthetic and nurse education, burns education and in the last 3 years, a focus on allied health training. Since 2006, Interplast has been providing training support to the Department of Physiotherapy at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva, particularly over the past 2 years. This support has included clinical skills training for the physiotherapists as well as formal workshops. ​The training and support has greatly improved communication and referral between the surgical and physiotherapy departments, and as a result, better patient outcomes.
 
Interplast volunteer physiotherapist, Jennifer Ball, who has been leading this training since 2006, has developed a two-week training program for one of Fiji's key physiotherapists, Alena, which will enable her to spend time in both Hobart and Melbourne, based at the Royal Hobart Hospital and the Alfred Hospital, gaining invaluable experience and training. This activity will provide Alena with new skills and understanding which will greatly contribute to her practice in Fiji, and enable her to return home and teach these skills to her peers.
 
Similarly to the Kiribati program, we will be able to provide your district with lots of photos and stories of this placement.
 
The funding utilised for this visit will be approximately $5000.