Maternal death rate at Timor-Leste’s national hospital decreases significantly
4 May 2018
According to the Timor-Leste Demographic and Health Survey in 2016, around 12 per cent of deaths among Timorese women of child-bearing age are due to maternal causes.
Social Outreach Director International Health Anthea Ramos said the reduction in maternal mortality rates at the national hospital was a significant achievement and demonstrates their increased capacity and willingness to work together to improve care and have better patient outcomes.
As part of its commitment to Social Outreach, St John of God Health Care has been delivering the Nursing Development Program, in partnership with Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Health and with the support of ConocoPhillips, at the HNGV since 2010.
The Program’s objective is to define key competencies and build the capacity of local nursing and midwifery staff to provide access to better quality healthcare for the people of Timor-Leste.
“Lifting the standard of maternity care at HNGV, which is Timor-Leste’s only teaching hospital, has been a key focus since the program first commenced,” Anthea said.
Timor-Leste Country Manager Ben Dingle said there has been an expat midwife based on the maternity ward at the hospital for 4 years to provide role modelling, mentoring and skills transfer to their Timorese colleagues.
“In addition our team has a Timorese Midwifery Project Officer working with our midwife, who delivers training with her Timorese colleagues,” Ben said.
“Over the last few years especially, the way we deliver the program has evolved considerably. Our focus is now on supporting the HNGV Executive to make long-term, sustainable improvements at the structural and systemic level, as that allows us to make the greatest impact from a hospital-wide perspective,” Anthea said.
“Already we have seen extremely positive results from this approach but there are some wards with more complex technical needs, where we have kept our expat nurses and midwives working side-by-side with their Timorese colleagues on a daily basis and maternity is one of them.
“This improvement to maternal mortality rates is a testament to the work the HNGV midwives and doctors do every day in collaboration with the Nursing Development Program, which is supported by St John of God Health Care’s long-term commitment to improving access to good quality healthcare for the people of Timor-Leste.”
The generous, long-term support of ConocoPhillips also helps make the Nursing Development Program possible.