Baby help delivered

By Bridget Cook
A DANDENONG Hospital obstetrician is the latest Southern Health member of staff to provide medical assistance and education in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Michelle Schlipalius, along with a midwife, spent 10 days in Vanimo, PNG, recently working with and educating the midwives, nurses and health workers at the village hospital.
She said the aim of the trip was to provide education to hospital staff.
“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 training in paediatrics, cardiology, infection control and anaesthetics.
Ms 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.