What We Do
When we receive a request for assistance from a hospital, a site visit is arranged by a small team from Health Volunteers International to conduct an initial needs assessment. This looks at the needs of the hospital and how we can help. We will then organise a team of volunteers to spend time at the hospital, working with local doctors and nurses to improve patient care within their resource constraints. During our time there we aim to:
provide clinical (bedside) teaching to improve standard of care
provide lectures and tutorials to medical and nursing staff to improve their knowledge of medical conditions and current treatments
provide workshops to improve their practical skills (eg resuscitation training)
run multi-day refresher courses where needed, so that medical and nursing staff from other nearby hospitals can also receive teaching and training
work with hospital administrators and local government officials to identify potential areas for system improvement (eg clinical pathways or protocols, simple equipment changes that can lead to improved patient outcomes)
We always work with the local medical and nursing staff, and with them identify areas for improvement that we can provide help with. We also ensure we can commit to repeat visits to the same site until we see changes for the better. One visit of only a few weeks is not enough to make meaningful change - we are committed to a long term involvement to achieve sustainable long term outcomes.
Health Volunteers International has also facilitated visits by doctors and nurses from Namibia to the Royal Hobart Hospital for clinical attachments of varying durations, in an attempt to improve their experience and skills more specifically. We find these experiences are also invaluable in enabling Namibian practitioners to see the way we do things in Australia, often leading to meaningful system changes when they return home to Namibia.
