Alfred Health News

The value of teaching and sharing expertise with others is well known by staff of The Alfred's Intensive Care Unit. It's not just a local ethos either, but one they are transporting to other countries in our region.

In 2013, Intensivist Steve McGloughlin visited Fiji as a volunteer, to assist with a training course for intensive care doctors aimed at improving the care of critically ill patients. Following this visit the Colonial War Memorial Hospital (CWMH) in Suva, Fiji and the Fijian National University requested the Alfred ICU's assistance in providing education and assistance to the staff of their Intensive Care Unit. Work then began on developing a collaboration between the two ICUs.

The Alfred ICU is one of the largest intensive care units in Australia with some of the best patient outcomes.  CWMH has a 10 bed ICU that provides care for over 500 Fijians suffering from life threatening illnesses each year.

Intensive care specialists from The Alfred travelled to the South Pacific island in August 2014 and February 2015 to facilitate training programs for CWMH's ICU medical and nursing staff.  A further visit is planned for later this year.

"Fiji, specifically the Fijian National University, is the major provider of medical training for the entire South Pacific, so training provided to medical and nursing staff in Fiji will be of benefit to not only Fiji but also other hospitals in the region whose staff have trained at CWMH," Dr McGloughlin said.

Professor Carlos Scheinkestel, The Alfred's Director Intensive Care & Hyberbaric Medicine, takes Alfred Health's commitment as a teaching organisation very seriously. 

"As  leaders in education and quality improvement, it is incumbent on us to provide assistance to our colleagues when requested," Prof Scheinkestel said.

• The ongoing collaboration has been made possible by a generous donation from Sadhna Wilson. A Fijian who is passionate about assisting to develop high quality health services in her native country, Ms Wilson has been a key member of the Alfred's Life Support Committee for the last eight years as well as serving as chairperson of this committee and Board member of The Alfred Foundation.