INTERPLAST AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND IN LAOS
Interplast Australia and New Zealand is a not for profit organisation which aims to improve lives through the treatment of disabling conditions which inhibit full engagement in society. This is done by providing access to surgical and allied health services in developing countries and by supporting and building capacity within local health services to enable the delivery of surgical and other related health care interventions.
Funded by the Rotary Club of Upper Blue Mountains in NSW, Australia, Interplast will deploy a team to deliver a surgical program to treat patients with disabling conditions, such a burns injuries at the Mahosot General Hospital from 12 – 23 September 2011. In addition to providing treatment to patients, the Interplast team will also deliver education and training to the dedicated medical professionals at the hospital.
The seven highly skilled team members are Mr Philip Slattery (surgeon), Mr James Savundra (surgeon), Dr Simon Reilly (anaesthetist), Dr Stefan Sabato (anaesthetist), Ms Angela Doherty (nurse), Ms Gillian Bathgate (nurse) and Ms Samantha Jervios (nurse). During the teams visit it is anticipated approximately 50 selected patients will receive treatment. If patients are selected for treatment surgery is provided free of charge.
A clinic will be held at Mahosot General Hospital on Monday 12 September 2011 9:00am. To make further enquiries or an appointment please contact Terese Karaan on +61 (0)3 9249 1231 or [email protected] or Dr Vanpheng at Mahosot General Hospital on 20 5560 9415 or [email protected].
Surgical programs generally consist of surgical teams deployed to South East Asia and the Pacific and volunteer team members are typically Australian & New Zealand medical practitioners (surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and allied health) who provide treatment and professional development to improve local capacity to deliver services.
Interplast has been delivering services and training to medical professionals at Mahosot General Hospital, Vientiane since 1996. In this time, a surgical team has been successfully trained to confidently undertake cleft lip and palate surgery. The Lao team is now sponsored by Interplast to deliver their own cleft lip and palate outreach programs. This has enabled Interplast visiting teams to direct training and education to the treatment of burns injuries.