The signing of the first 5 year agreement in Sept 1993

The agreement for the twinning programme was formally signed by Dr Sione Tapa (the Minister of Health, Tonga) , Mr. Peter MacDonald (President, the Rotary Club of Nuku'alofa), and Mr. Daniel Slattery (CEO of St.John's), in September 1993 in Nuku'alofa.

 The first envoys included Trevor and Wanda Chapman, (the Rotary Club of Ballarat South) who went as facilitators for the entire two months of the first exchange.  They were an enormous success, because not only did they oil the wheels of the programme in an unbelievably successful way, but were able to achieve many significant tasks which gave the programme tremendous goodwill.  A letter Peter Armstrong, an AIDAB sponsored anaesthetist in Tonga, sent back to friends in Australia last Christmas, said

"The other major consumer of time was helping to get the twinning Program with St       John of God Hospital Ballarat going.  The first 8 week period has just finished, and it has been an unqualified success.  They sent over a retired couple asco-ordinators: she was an ex-mayor of Ballarat, and a superb organiser and he a handyman.  He spent 3 weeks connecting up a hot water system left unfinished five years ago by some outside contractors.  The hospital now has hot water for the first time in many years.  He and an engineer from Perth fixed our Oxygen plant which had lain idle for 9 months in 3 days. Another bunch of "Engineers" were paid $20,000 for not fixing it some months before. We also spent $100,000 on Oxygen over the time the plant was not working.  To compound the farce, all they had to do was to fix an air compressor and swap some narrow tubing for some wider bits - and all this was in the instruction manual!

And in a letter from Robert Bolouri, a member of the Rotary club of Nuku'alofa.

"The impact of the visits by the staff of St John specially Trevor and Wanda on the       hospital for the past two months is been so great that has attracted the attention of the entire country and has gained the full support of the people, we are very grateful to them."

 The other envoys for the first exchange were Sr. Petrrus Enright (Director of Nursing, SJOG), David Quinney (Nursing administration), John Macdonald, (ICU nursing), Carolyn Macdonald (Medical Records), Joe Bagnara (Pathology), Jane Eastwood (Nursing, Infection Control), Debbie Schaeffer (Pharmacy), Cliff Trottman (Radiology), and Glen Flanagan (Engineering, SJOG, Subiaco).

They have all submitted reports, with recommendations for future action.  For example, the purchase of a set of instruments for internal fixation of broken bones was suggested by Paul Kierce and Ross Phillips, whilst Bill Crouch and Tony Nuttall suggested sweeping changes to the outpatient department. John Macdonald reported on the progress of the Intensive Care Unit course that he recommended last year.  It is hoped that the top nurse in this course will be able to come to work in the ICU at Ballarat for a short period.  Nurse Leo Ryan provided support to the Clinical Nurse Educator, both teaching in the wards, and developing procedures such as pre-operative check lists.

Each of these participants went for two weeks, and stayed in the Rotary sponsored house near the hospital.  Reports and plans were subsequently submitted to the CEO at St. John's and have been used to plan further developments.  Some initiatives were set in motion, but the major thrust to this stage has been in planning.

 It is with some satisfaction however, that I note that a nurse educator has been appointed in the wards, that an ICU training course has been developed and the first 6  graduates have completed their course, and that many of the suggestions re maintenance and engineering have been followed up by the FAIM teams of Rotary.

 Depending on the level of financial support available in the coming year, we hope to see an acceleration in the twinning programme, with selected individuals in various departments of the Vailoa hospital coming to Ballarat for short terms of vocational training and experience, and a continuation of the envoy system for teaching and support in Nuku'alofa.

The next teams will leave at the end of July, and will include once again, Trevor and Wanda Chapman and John Macdonald (for his fourth trip).

 I would like to thank all envoys for volunteering their time and enthusiasm to the programme, for the professional advice they have given, and for their commitment to further development of the ties between Nuku'alofa and Ballarat.

 I would also like to thank the Rotary Club of Auckland who have generously provided transit accommodation for our envoys this year.  Colin Dixon, their International Service Director has been incredibly supportive of the programme.  His Club put in $NZ4,500 last year, and $NZ8,000 this year for purchase of items of medical equipment listed in the Matching Grants application.

 EQUIPMENT.

An urgently needed refrigerated mortuary was shipped by the club for the people of the island of Ha'apai.  Advice on requirements was given by SJOG pathologist Dr. Stan Pilbeam, and a surplus coolroom donated by the Ballarat Brewing Company (courtesy Wendouree Breakfast's Peter Berlyn).  Kelvin Mark and David Coxall supervised refurbishment and shipping, and the club picked up the bill for $3,800.  The people of Ha'apai raised $T3000 to help cover the costs of this mortuary.  Unfortunately, it was not insured, and was broken up on the wharf at Nuku'alofa.  The refrigeration unit was stolen, and has not been recovered.  One of the projects this year will be to complete the supply and installation of this unit.

 After a request from Vaiola, a set of large size blood pressure measurement cuffs was purchased by the Rotary club of Maryborough, and taken over by Trevor Chapman.  Subsequently a "Wish List" was developed, and needed equipment sought and offered from not only the Base and St John's, but from the Queen Elizabeth, Royal Children's, Albury Base, Mt Gambier and Ararat Hospitals, and the RC of Drysdale.  Each of the envoys has take about 10 Kg of items on this list with them as travel baggage.

 We have in the last few weeks completed a major shipment of medical goods (insured for $10,000 this time) that includes amongst many other items, a surplus Intensive Care Unit ventilator donated by St. John's.  All items supplied were from those listed on the "Wish List" supplied by the medical staff at Nuku'alofa

 Following contacts made between the pharmacy departments by envoy Debbie Schaeffer, and prior to development of planned and budgeted ordering of pharmaceuticals, we have on two occasions supplied and airmailed urgent supplies of antiepileptic and antibiotic medication when stocks had run out in Nuku'alofa.

 From the "Wish List", we have developed a list of medical equipment (appended), that we are unlikely to be able to find as obsolete or surplus.  An application for a Matching Grant #3263 has been approved by the Rotary Foundation, for the purchase of items from this list.  The funds ($US40,000) come from the Matching Grant from the Rotary Foundation ($US20,000), and the Rotary Clubs of Ballarat West ($US2,000), Ballarat South ($US4,000), Auckland ($US4,000+), and Nuku'alofa ($US10,000). 

 FUNDING

An initial application for the above "Matching Grant" funds should be available before the end of the financial year.  An application is before AIDAB for funding for fares, to help support the efforts of St. John of God Hospital, Ballarat.  In air fares alone, St. Johns have put in $20,000+ so far this financial year.

 The Rotary Club of Torquay has provided $1,000, and Wendouree Breakfast $550 for shipping, emergency pharmacy supplies and other expenses.  An account has been set up to handle donations to this project, and a record of expenses will be distributed to all donors at the end of each financial year.  The Rotary Club of Auckland has put in $NZ12,500 over the last two years to supply equipment as recommended by the twinning programme

 Ballarat West has provided funding for shipping of medical items listed above, and provided $3,000 towards rental of the accommodation in Nuku'alofa.  Ballarat South has with West sponsored the air fare for engineer Max Suter, and provided a fund for the purchase of incidentals needed by the FAIM teams.

Max Suter, a retired engineer from Beechworth is due to go to Tonga next week to help support the engineering department, an area in much need of direction.  Max is the incoming regional president of FAIM for 1994-5, a  past District Governor, and has been on several FAIM trips to PNG. 

In a separate development a biomedical engineer from the MiddlemoreHospital in Auckland, Lorry Dyball, has been sent to look at electronic medical apparatus in the hospital by the Rotary club of Half Moon Bay, and will be able to provide significant advice and help to the department.

 The Rotary Club of Nuku'alofa raised $T50,000 in the first year to supporting this project.  They help provide and refurbish accommodation, and have provided $100 per week in living expenses to each of the envoys.  They have offered $US4000 towards the purchase of equipment on the attached "Matching Grant" application, and have provided an unspecified amount of funding (and effort) in the support of the various aspects of this programme.

 FAIM PROJECT

Trevor Chapman has been responsible for the development of a number of maintenance projects, and together with Geoff Hedditch, (Ballarat South) has involved the FAIM arm of Rotary in our programme.  A competent Maintenance Department was one of the prime areas of need identified at the Vaiola Hospital, and through FAIM, we hope to build up and support that area.  Their brief is to teach and assist, so the emphasis will be on supporting the efforts of the Tongans, rather than actually physically doing any particular project.  Like the twinning programme, they realise that well meaning "giving" rarely produces any long term benefits to a community.

 The first FAIM envoy, Max Suter, is a retired engineer, and has gone to Nuku'alofa for the months of May and June.  He will act (like Trevor and Wanda) as facilitator to the first two conventional FAIM teams, but will also set about to raise the performance of the Maintenance Department.  Max is the Chairman of FAIM for the coming year, and his support and experience will be invaluable.

 There has been a most enthusiastic response to the establishment of FAIM teams, and there are far more volunteers than we have positions to fill at this stage.  However, the project will run over at least 5 years, and there will be many future opportunities.

The first team left on the 8th of May and returned on the 24th.  They helped paint the interior of the hospital, and repair the guttering around the hospital.  The team was made up of the following members.

 A second team left early in June, and Geoff Hedditch hopes to get another team to Tonga in July.  More teams will follow after the next group of medical envoys have completed their tasks in August and September.

 THE TEAM

An ad hoc Rotary committee has formed to support St John of God Hospital in the development of the Vaiola Hospital in Tonga, and includes beside myself, the following three members.

Trevor Chapman, (Rotary Club of Ballarat South.) co-ordinator between Rotary and St. Johns, maintenance, engineering.

Geoff Hedditch, (Rotary Club of Ballarat South.), FAIM

 Robert Bolouri Chairman, Vaiola Hospital Redevelopment committee, the Rotary Club of Nuku'alofa), and Talia'uli Afeaki (Secretary of the Tongan Medical Association) have been tireless in their efforts to support the efforts of the Rotary Club of Ballarat West. 

 The CEO of St John of God Hospital, Daniel Slattery, has been the pillar on which this project has been built, and continues to amaze me with his enthusiasm

Dennis Wilson (Governor District 9780) and our own President Ken Hibberd have always been very supportive of the programme, and with innumerable staff at both St.John's and the Base offer help whenever asked.

 A final word of thanks to Peter Armstrong, the AIDAB sponsored anaesthetist in Tonga.  Peter has been an extraordinary facilitator, and it is with extreme regret that we will lose his services.  He has with his local knowledge and experience, been able to direct help to where it was most needed.  He has completed his two year term, and will return to Newcastle to enable his children's education.  He will be sorely missed;  I don't envy AIDAB's task at seeking a replacement.

 Thank you all for your support.

 John Oswald

Vaiola Hospital Project Co-ordinator,

Ballarat West Rotary Club,

PO Box 92,

June 16, 1994