Activities 2023

This talk was presented by one of our committee members, Trish Green, at CliniCon ASM Perth July 2023 and gives an overview of microbiology laboratory capacity building at Prof. Johannes Hospital in West Timor, Indonesia. This work was done through the Flinders Overseas Health Group (FOHG), which provides multi-disciplinary collaborative professional development for health professionals in Nusa Tengarra Timor(NTT) Province. The talk helps to provide insights into the challenges in an under-resourced setting and also touches on the disparities in access to healthcare. The experiences of up-skilling laboratory staff, improving infection control standards and helping the overall health outcomes for patients are also presented.

View a gallery of images from the opening of the Peter Scott Building

After a 4 year hiatus due to Covid, a small team was able to carry out an in-person visit to Kupang. Dr Smathi Chong, Dr Gill Marshman, Dr Helen Bradly, and Trish Green spent the time re-establishing relationships with various stakeholders. It was a busy time finalising MOU’s with the District Governor which will allow us to carry on our work in NTT, along with Undana University (Universitas Nusa Cendana) , and the Kupang Ministry of Health Polytechnic or Poltekkes (Politeknik Kesehatan Kemenkes Kupang).

The teaching was held in the new Dr Peter Scott Education Building. Five Doctors and six Midwives conducted the teaching, along with volunteers who helped with the set up and the organising of the station for estimated blood loss.