ANZGITA In The News
The following programs will be conducted in 2020:
Solomon Islands: 8 – 14 March - Completed
16 – 22 Aug - TBC
Timor-Leste: 3 – 9 May - Cancelled
4 – 10 Oct - TBC
Fiji Islands: 5 July – 1 Aug - Cancelled
Nepal: 14 – 21 Nov - Cancelled
Samoa: 23 – 30 May - Cancelled
Tonga: 16 – 23 Aug - TBC
Solomon Islands: 8 – 14 March - Completed
16 – 22 Aug - TBC
Timor-Leste: 3 – 9 May - Cancelled
4 – 10 Oct - TBC
Fiji Islands: 5 July – 1 Aug - Cancelled
Nepal: 14 – 21 Nov - Cancelled
Samoa: 23 – 30 May - Cancelled
Tonga: 16 – 23 Aug - TBC
Pacific Programs Leader, Chris Hair, Interviewed at Radio NZ
Read a short introduction by Radio NZ and hear Chris' interview on digital apps being used to assist Pacific doctors in their work through secure real-time communications and regular tele-education sessions here.
ANZGITA Annual Report 2018/19 Released
The 2018/2019 Annual Report has been released. If members would like a printed copy please request one by email.
To read, click on the 3 vertical dots below and choose fullscreen. After reading press the ESC key.
To read, click on the 3 vertical dots below and choose fullscreen. After reading press the ESC key.
Tonga Training in the News
Read about the work Assoc Prof Chris Hair and nurse Cathy Conway have done in Tonga with the endoscopy team at Vailoa Hospital in their local news.
ANZGITA 2019 Member AWARDS Announced at AGM
At the 2019 AGM, the Board gratefully acknowledged three outstanding and dedicated contributors to ANZGITA's success:
Karen Kempin, trainer since 2011, for nursing leadership on Pacific programs
Dinesh Lal, trainer since 2011 and for ERCP mentoring of Dr Rokocakau at CWMH
Darran Leyden, CEO Whiteley Corporation, for consistently generous long-term support
(pictured at left congratulated by Prof Macrae)
Congratulations! Thank you for your service.
New NRH Unit Opened During Training Program
The new National Referral Hospital endoscopy unit was opened on the first day of the Anzgita training program. Read the Solomon Islands newspaper report.
Below L to R, ANZGITA Chair, Prof Finlay Macrae AO with Dr Steve Aumanu, NRH CEO and Mr Oliver Weng from the Taiwanese Embassy opening the unit; Our nurses with NRH colleagues during the training program; the ANZGITA training team: Dr Mark Norrie (joint Solomon Islands program leader) with nurses Emma Dimitri and Karen Gower, Finlay Macrae.
Below L to R, ANZGITA Chair, Prof Finlay Macrae AO with Dr Steve Aumanu, NRH CEO and Mr Oliver Weng from the Taiwanese Embassy opening the unit; Our nurses with NRH colleagues during the training program; the ANZGITA training team: Dr Mark Norrie (joint Solomon Islands program leader) with nurses Emma Dimitri and Karen Gower, Finlay Macrae.
New Endoscopy Unit at National Referral Hospital, Honiara, Solomon Islands
The new unit at NRH has been completed ready for on-going operation and the training programs. As well as offering advice and support along the way, we've shipped additional equipment to support the fit out.
Eileen Natuzzi gained the support of a NFP foundation she is associated with, set up by US WWII veterans' families, to fund two new electric trollies ($11,000).
Di Jones (with help from husband Andy) and Mark Norrie picked up a good number of useful items that were donated by Montserrat Day Hospitals when one of their units recently relocated in Brisbane.
Di also visited NRH to accept the new endoscope reprocessing system from supplier Cantel (their team pictured below with NRH nurses) and provide some initial training for nurses. RACS funded the purchase using a donation ANZGITA member Terry Gavaghan secured from the the Ainsworth Foundation for the RACS Foundation's gastroenterology work in association with ANZGITA.
Deputy Chair Tony Clarke obtained the pro bono assistance of architect John Hanrahan during the design stage.
The drying cabinet on the right was sourced as part of the unit build budget.
Pentax continue to support with the provision of endoscopes. Boston Scientific supplied a year's worth of accessories for three of our partner centres last year. Half of what is pictured below-right was sent to NRH by DAISI who provided us space at no cost in a container they were sending to Honiara
Our thanks to everyone involved in this successful team effort.
One more piece of equipment is still needed and the Dili unit needs to be brought up to a similar equipped state. We are keen to talk to potential donors and suppliers interested in assisting.
Eileen Natuzzi gained the support of a NFP foundation she is associated with, set up by US WWII veterans' families, to fund two new electric trollies ($11,000).
Di Jones (with help from husband Andy) and Mark Norrie picked up a good number of useful items that were donated by Montserrat Day Hospitals when one of their units recently relocated in Brisbane.
Di also visited NRH to accept the new endoscope reprocessing system from supplier Cantel (their team pictured below with NRH nurses) and provide some initial training for nurses. RACS funded the purchase using a donation ANZGITA member Terry Gavaghan secured from the the Ainsworth Foundation for the RACS Foundation's gastroenterology work in association with ANZGITA.
Deputy Chair Tony Clarke obtained the pro bono assistance of architect John Hanrahan during the design stage.
The drying cabinet on the right was sourced as part of the unit build budget.
Pentax continue to support with the provision of endoscopes. Boston Scientific supplied a year's worth of accessories for three of our partner centres last year. Half of what is pictured below-right was sent to NRH by DAISI who provided us space at no cost in a container they were sending to Honiara
Our thanks to everyone involved in this successful team effort.
One more piece of equipment is still needed and the Dili unit needs to be brought up to a similar equipped state. We are keen to talk to potential donors and suppliers interested in assisting.
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Semi-automatic endoscope reprocessing system installed in Timor-Leste
In early September, the semi-automatic endoscope reprocessing system (pictured above) was installed at Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares (HNGV) in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. It was the culmination of over two year’s work by Dianne Jones, supported by others, to specify and source a system best suited to a developing country’s conditions. Cantel Australia have supplied and installed the system using equipment from a Chinese supplier, and committed to a multi-year support arrangement.
The project was funded through a generous donation by the Ainsworth Foundation. In October, another system will be installed in Honiara at the National Referral Hospital.
The system is a fit-for-purpose training facility at NRH that enables the learning of best-practice skills and procedures for reprocessing during intensive training sessions by visiting ANZGITA teams and throughout the year from senior NRH medical staff.
It will enable endoscopy procedural practice free from equipment cross infection at all times.
The project was funded through a generous donation by the Ainsworth Foundation. In October, another system will be installed in Honiara at the National Referral Hospital.
The system is a fit-for-purpose training facility at NRH that enables the learning of best-practice skills and procedures for reprocessing during intensive training sessions by visiting ANZGITA teams and throughout the year from senior NRH medical staff.
It will enable endoscopy procedural practice free from equipment cross infection at all times.
Fiji Training Program 5 July 2019
The annual four-week Fiji training program, held in partnership with Fiji National University and Colonial War Memorial Hospital, Suva started on 5 July. It ran for four weeks and 5 doctors and 5 nurses attended for periods of up to two weeks as trainers.
Dr Mai Ling Perman led preparations on behalf of Fiji National University and Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH) and was a trainer, along with Country Program Leader Dr Chris Hair. We have received generous donations of accessories for the program from Boston Scientific and Cook Medical as well as excellent prices for new equipment from Fujifilm / CR Kennedy.
Dr Mai Ling Perman led preparations on behalf of Fiji National University and Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH) and was a trainer, along with Country Program Leader Dr Chris Hair. We have received generous donations of accessories for the program from Boston Scientific and Cook Medical as well as excellent prices for new equipment from Fujifilm / CR Kennedy.
Dr Celia Santos, Timor-Leste
Hosted by Canberra Hospital, Dr Celia Santos has started her three month Australia Awards Fellowship of intensive training in endoscopy. She is pictured below (centre picture) with GE Unit Director Vipul Aggarwal and GEU Nurse Manager Sharon Chambers. The Awards are Australian Government (DFAT) funded and are competitively sought, so we were pleased to be able to build a strong case for her fellowship. Celia is the Head of Department of Internal Medicine at Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares (HNGV) in Dili, the Timor-Leste capital.
Celia will also work at Calvary Hospital in Canberra and will attend AGW2018 in Brisbane before returning to Canberra to finish her fellowship in late September. The Australia Awards grant also will fund a visit by an ANZGITA doctor and nurse to Dili to help her implement her learnings in her home unit. We are very thankful to Canberra and Calvary Hospitals for agreeing to engage Celia over the three months of her fellowship and to ACT Health for their assistance. Tony Clarke and Chris Kiely (Timor-Leste Program Leader) are providing ANZGITA support. The picture on the right is the HNGV endoscopy team in 2017 with Chris on the far right.
Celia will also work at Calvary Hospital in Canberra and will attend AGW2018 in Brisbane before returning to Canberra to finish her fellowship in late September. The Australia Awards grant also will fund a visit by an ANZGITA doctor and nurse to Dili to help her implement her learnings in her home unit. We are very thankful to Canberra and Calvary Hospitals for agreeing to engage Celia over the three months of her fellowship and to ACT Health for their assistance. Tony Clarke and Chris Kiely (Timor-Leste Program Leader) are providing ANZGITA support. The picture on the right is the HNGV endoscopy team in 2017 with Chris on the far right.
Dr Mai Ling Perman, Fiji
In the early years of the Fiji training programs, Dr Mai Ling Perman had a strong interest in endoscopy and with the ANZGITA team's support and that of FNU Assoc Prof Jioji Malnai's she quickly developed competencies and continued to develop her skills over the following years. In 2013 Mai Ling came to Australia for intensive training. Subsequently, she undertook more observational training in Japan, and attended a WGO train-the-trainer course in London in 2015. Mai Ling is now a teacher at the FNU Medical School and does frequent outreach training across the Pacific. This has taken her to Vanuatu, Palau, Kiribati, Tonga, Marshall islands and probably other visits we are not aware of. Mai Ling is on the left in the photo celebrating her birthday recently while in Marshall Islands supporting colleagues.
Amongst her achievements in addition to the many, many patients that she has treated in Suva, is the formation of a competency assessment form for endoscopy trainees that we also use in other pacific programs, and over-seeing the ongoing gastroenterology curriculum and program in Suva. According to Chris Hair, who leads all our activities in the Pacific, "Mai Ling has probably done more for pacific endoscopy than anyone, and arguably had most influence, through her training, teaching and clinical work."
Amongst her achievements in addition to the many, many patients that she has treated in Suva, is the formation of a competency assessment form for endoscopy trainees that we also use in other pacific programs, and over-seeing the ongoing gastroenterology curriculum and program in Suva. According to Chris Hair, who leads all our activities in the Pacific, "Mai Ling has probably done more for pacific endoscopy than anyone, and arguably had most influence, through her training, teaching and clinical work."
ANZGITA facilitates treatment of Solomon Islander
In May 2017 ANZGITA was approached to see if it could help with the management of a young man in the Solomon Islands who had required repeated hospital admissions having inhaled an aluminium beer can closure strip some two years earlier. X-Rays had confirmed the closure strip was lodged in a bronchus and there was considerable associated inflammation and lung collapse. It was felt by all those consulted that it would be unsafe to try to manage this problem in Honiara where facilities are very limited. ANZGITA approached two Australian Hospitals to see if they could provide care for this young man on a pro bono basis. ACT Health and Canberra Hospital was the first to agree to this, as did thoracic surgeon Dr John Tharion.
Obtaining a visa for this young man to come to Australia proved extremely time consuming but was eventually achieved. The patient eventually arrived in Canberra in May 2018. Bronchoscopy located the closure strip which was not firmly imbedded in the bronchial wall, and it was removed. However, after three weeks of intensive physiotherapy and antibiotic therapy it was clear that the collapsed and damaged area of lung was not going to re-expand, and Dr Tharion elected to undertake a lobectomy to remove the affected region of lung to ensure the patient did not have ongoing bouts of infection. The patient made a rapid recovery from his surgery and is expected to soon return home to the Solomon Islands.
In addition to Dr Tharion and his medical and nursing team, many contributed to the successful care of this patient. ACT Health and the Canberra Hospital kindly provided access on a compassionate basis. Dr Jon Bromley and Ms Melanie Applebee both provided considerable organisational effort to arrange the admission and the support the patient needed. The Solomon Islands High Commission and local Solomon Islands community gave the patient vital support and accommodation when he was not an inpatient. ANZGITA thanks all of these contributors to the patient’s care, and is proud to have been able to facilitate his treatment.
Obtaining a visa for this young man to come to Australia proved extremely time consuming but was eventually achieved. The patient eventually arrived in Canberra in May 2018. Bronchoscopy located the closure strip which was not firmly imbedded in the bronchial wall, and it was removed. However, after three weeks of intensive physiotherapy and antibiotic therapy it was clear that the collapsed and damaged area of lung was not going to re-expand, and Dr Tharion elected to undertake a lobectomy to remove the affected region of lung to ensure the patient did not have ongoing bouts of infection. The patient made a rapid recovery from his surgery and is expected to soon return home to the Solomon Islands.
In addition to Dr Tharion and his medical and nursing team, many contributed to the successful care of this patient. ACT Health and the Canberra Hospital kindly provided access on a compassionate basis. Dr Jon Bromley and Ms Melanie Applebee both provided considerable organisational effort to arrange the admission and the support the patient needed. The Solomon Islands High Commission and local Solomon Islands community gave the patient vital support and accommodation when he was not an inpatient. ANZGITA thanks all of these contributors to the patient’s care, and is proud to have been able to facilitate his treatment.
North Pacific
Dr Payne Perman met with Australian Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop, when she visited the Federated States of Micronesia recently. Payne practises endoscopy at Pohnpei Hospital. He asked Ms Bishop for more Australian assistance and we are supporting him on that.
Currently, Payne is an attendee at Chris Hair's tele-education endoscopy lectures which are presented in real time with Q&A sessions to a number of hospitals in the Pacific.
Chris met Payne and Dr Kabiri Tun of Kiribati when they were in Melbourne recently and discussed the needs of the "North" Pacific. The idea of a one or two week intensive training program in Pohnpei, which has good air links to other North Pacific nations, with doctor and nurse trainees from the four Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati and perhaps other nations was discussed. Such a program would consolidate what would otherwise be individually funded and delivered outreach visits - worth considering further.
Currently, Payne is an attendee at Chris Hair's tele-education endoscopy lectures which are presented in real time with Q&A sessions to a number of hospitals in the Pacific.
Chris met Payne and Dr Kabiri Tun of Kiribati when they were in Melbourne recently and discussed the needs of the "North" Pacific. The idea of a one or two week intensive training program in Pohnpei, which has good air links to other North Pacific nations, with doctor and nurse trainees from the four Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati and perhaps other nations was discussed. Such a program would consolidate what would otherwise be individually funded and delivered outreach visits - worth considering further.
Video Lectures to Pacific Hospitals
Chris Hair delivered a teleconference lecture with Q&A in May that was watched in about 10 different Pacific Island Nations including Marshall Islands, Palau, Samoa, American Samoa and Fiji. It was the first of a series, with the next planned for 22 June. Chris worked with Dr Payne Perman in Micronesia to organise this first of a series of gastroenterology lectures using the ECHO facilities of the Pacific Basin Telehealth Resource Center at the University of Hawai’i. The topic was “Biopsy for suspected colon cancers and case discussion”. The connection across nearly all participating centres was very good and there was a Q&A session at the end. Congratulations to Chris and colleagues for this initiative. It opens up potential for use in supporting all our partners beyond intensive training program visits.
Reprocessing Systems for Honiara and Dili
A donation from the Ainsworth Foundation and support from RACS has enabled us to work with the National Referral Hospital in Honiara (top picture) and the Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares in Dili for the order of semi-automatic endoscope reprocessing systems. The system specification work, led by Dianne Jones and with support from other members, is for a system which will meet required cleaning and disinfection standards and have high availability given the available support in these countries. It was felt that fully automatic systems were inappropriate. Orders have been placed with Cantel and installations and initial training are expected around July 2018.
Samoa
Chris Hair and Karen Kempin visited Samoa in March for a week. There were 3 medical trainees. Gastroscopy, Colonoscopy Flexible Sigmoidoscopy, UGIB emergency endoscopy procedures were performed and assistance in unit operations, guidelines and more was provided.
Following is an example from Chris of enginuity that ANZGITA and our partners apply in circumstances where resources and facilities are simply not available but a way has to be found. Chris' comment is, "One of the hardest techniques to teach -'reducing the loop' during colonoscopy. In this case we've used a box to hide the loop from Dr Folo, who then attempts to reduce the loop by using the 'feel' of the scope, tactile feedback as the loop in the endoscope is first pulled back, and then rotated to straighten out. Cost us nothing to build this simulation, yet gave a learning experience that money can't buy."
Following is an example from Chris of enginuity that ANZGITA and our partners apply in circumstances where resources and facilities are simply not available but a way has to be found. Chris' comment is, "One of the hardest techniques to teach -'reducing the loop' during colonoscopy. In this case we've used a box to hide the loop from Dr Folo, who then attempts to reduce the loop by using the 'feel' of the scope, tactile feedback as the loop in the endoscope is first pulled back, and then rotated to straighten out. Cost us nothing to build this simulation, yet gave a learning experience that money can't buy."
Chris Hair and Karen Kempin are off to Samoa in March for a week (after a delay due to Cyclone Gita) to provide training and advice. Funding is by the Australian Government Pacific Islands Program which is administered by RACS.
Celia Santos Fellowship
ANZGITA has secured Australia Awards Fellowship funding for Dr Celia Santos from Timor-Leste’s national hospital to undertake three months intensive training at Canberra Hospital and Calvary Hospital. This will help secure the sustainability of the recently established endoscopy unit. Please download the announcement.
| celia_santos_fellowship.pdf |
Our AGM was held on 20 August. Below is the 2017 Annual Report of Activities which was presented at the meeting.
| annual_report_2017_v1.pdf |
Below is our April 2017 Newsletter
| anzgita_newsletter_april_2017.pdf |
On page 4 of the December 2016 Newsletter of the New Zealand Society of Gastroenterology is an article by Alan Fraser on ANZGITA and his training work in Myanmar earlier in the year.
| nzsg_dec_newsletter.pdf |
At the AGM on 9 October, 2016, the Annual Report was accepted by the Members.
| anzgita_annual_report_2016.pdf |
In March 2016 The Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation (JGHF) awarded ANZGITA a Special Project Grant. Details are in the attached document.
| jghf_grant.pdf |
In the Australia Day Honours Professor Finlay Macrae was made an Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to medicine in the field of gastroenterology and genomic disorders as a clinician and academic, and to human health through the Human Variome Project. The full citation is in the file below.
| finlays_ao_award.pdf |
Below is our first newsletter for members and others who are interested in our activities and latest news
| anzgita_newsletter_jan_2016.pdf |
The following article appeared in the Old Scotch Collegians Association magazine produced by the Scotch College Melbourne Alumni in December 2105.
| osca_dec_15_article.pdf |
A note by Greg Lockrey, an ANZITA member, on his involvement in the Fiji 2015 program appeared in the RACP News in November 2015
| racp-news-nov-2015_extract.pdf |
The following article by Finlay Macrae appeared in the October 2014 edition of the World Gastroenterology News.
| wgo_article_102014.pdf |
