Janette Etherington, the Rotary Engagement Coordinator, spoke at our Club meeting on Monday the 12th of December, informing us about how Interplast has coped with the Covid Pandemic. Janette is a member of the Rotary Club of Nunawading in District 9810. She brought two vistors from her club along: DGE Ian Ballantyne and Helen Parker
Interplast started in 1983 as a partnership between Rotary 9780 and Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. After nearly 40 years it now works in 17 countries in Asia Pacific and has performed over 26,500 surgeries
The Aim of Interplast is to provide plastic and surgical services for countries in our area which are still developing. However, it also has provided an enormous number of learning opportunities for medical staff in those countries, by way of mentoring, assisting, and providing online/actual support to those surgical, anaesthetic, nursing and allied health staff (physios, rehab clinicians etc.).
Just 6% of surgical procedures undertaken throughout the world are undertaken in the world’s poorest countries.
Janette showed some case examples of patients’ lives being reversed by the Interplast teams. Glady, Rockson, James, Patma, Dil. Moceiwai. See Latest News (interplast.org.au)
These cases are undertaken for functional, not for cosmetic reasons. The children may be unable to feed. Or to reduce the social impact of those deformities on those children now and in their future, making employment more possible.
The Pandemic years (2020-2022) meant that all the borders were closed, with Interplast shifting to support with online training, mentoring and supervision. As Interplast teams provided support directly pre-covid 19, they were ideally situated to expand their training during those very trying years, as they were already known to many of the training clinicians.
An enormous amount of teaching has been done over the last two-three years. There has been a total of nearly 16,000 mentoring hours, and nearly 91,000 webinar hours provided throughout those years.
Interplast was also able to provide surgical tools and equipment to these impoverished countries, and the finance to support the health services run their own programs without the actual presence of Interplast clinicians.
The effect overall of the Pandemic was to increase the numbers of countries serviced by Interplast from the 17 countries pre-pandemic to 38 post-pandemic, as many health services throughout the developing world sought support from the webinars and teaching sessions provided by Interplast. Those 21 non partner countries will almost certainly be looking for on-going hands-on support from Interplast.
Interplast’s goals post pandemic includes working to create systemic change in health systems. They will treat an extra 10,000 patients before the end of this decade. And they will work with the Ministries of Health to support 20 countries to strengthen their health policies.
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The good news now is that Interplast is travelling again. Post pandemic they have just undertaken their 145th program in Fiji, where it all started.
Interplast has over the last months incorporated Motivation Australia. Their goals and approaches (clinical training, mentoring, support with equipment etc) are aligned so it has been a straightforward fusion. Our program to send Voluntary Training Teams to Tonga will be undertaken now under Interplast’s umbrella. Motivation Australia’s role in the management of diabetic foot disease will be valuable as Interplast intends to concentrate especially on the consequences of diabetes in the near future.
Burns management in the Pacific will be expanded in Suva next year as the hub of emergency management of Burns training for the entire region.
Interplast appreciates the support it receives from the Rotary Club of Torquay and other Rotary Clubs in this District. These future directions of Interplast can only continue with that support.
John Oswald
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