Did you know that hospitals' medical equipment automatically gets shunted out as "unserviceable" after 10 years, regardless of whether it is still functional or not? And we wonder why our health budget keeps blowing out...Enter the Medical Repurposing Network (MRN). Last Wednesday, we welcomed Wayne and Janet Leathem to speak about their organization. Wayne, a member of the Currumbin-Coolangatta-Tweed Rotary Club, outlined their three guiding principles: Repurposing - Sustainability - Responsiblity. So, when medical or educational equipment becomes redundant, ask yourself...
Repurposing: "Are there others who could benefit from it?"
Sustainablity: "Should I throw this away? What else can I do?"
Responsibility: "Does this really need to go into landfill? Am I polluting the environment?"
It all started off when Wayne participated in the Tour de Timor, a cycling event in the vicinity of Dili, East Timor. There, he was made aware of a severe shortage of hospital beds. And once a Rotarian gets started... This was followed by 4 Ultrasound machines to the Philippines, 60 beds to a Children's Hospital in a remote region of Fiji... But, one of the big aspects is the cost of shipping: it costs approximately $700 - 900 to ship an Ultrasound unit. Compare that to a new, Chinese manufactured, laptop based unit which costs around $2,500.
Whilst in our country Tuberculosis is these days quite uncommon, in PNG, with >300 cases per 100,000 population, this is still a major issue. One of MRN's new project is the supply of Digital TB X-Ray screening system to remote regional areas of Papua New Guinea. The project's patron is the PNG High Commissioner to Australia, Mr Sakias Tameo, and the Enga Province Health Authority is on board. They have seed funding of $7,500 and are looking for 5 Rotary partners to donate US$5,000 each. Link - http://mrnetwork.com.au/x-ray-2019.html.
But shouldn't we also look after our own? Yes! For outback remote Australian clinics, MRN is looking to supply 10 new Chinese made portable Ultrasounds, valued at $3000 each. These remote outback clinics are serviced by the Royal Flying Doctor service (RFDS) and not all aircraft carry Ultrasounds. While this may not change the outcome for some patients, being better informed and able to diagnose quickly and accurately will save delays and unnecessary trips to Alice Springs or Darwin. Just one remote retrieval by RFDS and returning would equal the cost of one Portable Ultrasound. Click here for more. And even in the very recent bushfire emergency saw MRN in action: via the RAAF, equipment was dropped into Mallacoota, which was totally cut off...
Wayne's PowerPoint Show has been uploaded to our website - see Download Section on the right, which also contains contact details.