St John of God Ballarat Hospital Staff off to Tonga
1 May 2018
Left to right: CEO Alex Demidov, Twinning Program Coordinator Carolyn Mornane, Health Information Services Manager Michelle Franc, Director of Mission Maureen Waddington
About the Program
The program, which is run in partnership with the Ministry of Health in Tonga, provides health workers from the Pacific island country the opportunity to complete placements at the hospital to increase their skills and knowledge.
In February and March, hospital workers from Vaiola Hospital spent four weeks in various hospital departments. They gained a wealth of knowledge to take back to their hospital to continue to improve the quality of care they provide.
The return leg
Alex Demidov, Maureen Waddington, Carolyn Mornane, and Michelle Franc from St John of God Ballarat Hospital have made the journey to see the Vaiola Hospital in action and to provide knowledge to a range of areas within the hospital.
Some of the key areas of the trip are:
• To assess the current needs of the Hospital in conjunction with the MoH and DFAT for future planning and exchanges.
• To assist with the ongoing discussions regarding IT and the infrastructure in Tonga.
• To continue the longevity of our Collaborative Partnership with the Ministry of Health.
It’s an important partnership
St John of God Ballarat Hospital Chief Executive Officer Alex Demidov said the partnership, which had been running since 1992, was a great example of St John of God Health Care improving health services abroad.
“The Tonga Twinning Program has made considerable achievements in capacity building in Tongan health care. More than 120 Tongan Ministry of Health employees have experienced placements in Ballarat (four week visits) developing capacity across all aspects of health care and over 120 reciprocal visits (two week duration) have been made to Tonga, 60 by St John of God Ballarat Hospital caregivers over the last 25 years,” he said.
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