Mission to deliver aid

By Bridget Cook
NEW Narre Warren mum Sandra and daughter Kiarra were in capable hands on Tuesday morning.
They were in the care of obstetrician Michelle Schlipalius who has just returned from training midwives in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
The Dandenong Hospital obstetrician is the latest person from Southern Health to provide medical assistance and education in PNG.
Dr Schlipalius, along with a midwife, spent 10 days in Vanimo working with and educating the midwives, nurses and health workers at the hospital.
She said the aim of the trip was to provide education to the people at the hospital.
“We had to look at how to improve the basic things,” Dr Schlipalius said.
“The way we do things at Southern Health is completely irrelevant once you’re there,” she said, “it’s completely different, it’s a developing country.”
Over the past eight years, Southern Health has sent staff to Vanimo to provide paediatrics, cardiology, infection control and anaesthetics training.
Dr Schlipalius said she was keen to volunteer when Southern Health asked for maternity staff to travel to PNG.
She said the country is isolated and mountainous which makes it hard for the population to get to hospitals.
“Many women have their babies in the villages and have to fly them in from the rural areas,” she said.
The hospital ‘twinning’ project is funded by Australian Government’s overseas aid program, AusAid.