The team of Dr. Jones and Ms. Anh are meeting with the CVC & HCH staff, patients and families in relation to the final project evaluation. In addition to assisting Dr. Jones in conducting the evaluation Mai is finalising the Hue activity for the next and last 2 months.

During the visit the Vietnamese team have observed medical and nursing practice, ward rounds, education and teamwork. A key outcome of the visit was the development of guidelines and protocols for handover, assessment of infant/child witha cardiac condition, safety checklist, preparing and receiving a post-operative cardiac child back from theatre.

In addition the Vietnamese team have developed an action plan to implement the new guidelines and protocols into the ICU in Hue. During May 2011, Royal Children’s Hospital, International will be supporting RCH nursing staff to assist with the implementation.

The lectures on child and adolescent development were well received and served as a reminder about placing abnormal development and autism within the context of typical development and how early on things are beginning to go wrong for the children and what to look for. Psychopharmacology and co-morbid mental health conditions remain a challenge for the Psychiatrists and Paediatricians but the same can be said in Australia . In Vietnam they are keen to increase skills and learn about these complex issues.

The teaching about developmental assessment sits well with the work on the development clinic and staff could see the necessity and practicality of assessing children before putting a treatment programme into place.

The staff in the seven clinical departments at the hospital have recognised a need to develop greater depth in paeditric nursing and specialist medical knowledge and skills. This is to be underpinned by significant leadership development to ensure effective Departmental systems are in place and a culture of active learning exists.

In order to do this a joing project proposal with Da Nang hospital, RMIT and RCH International will be developed

• Basic cardiac nursing course curriculum to be completed
• Plan for the completion of the basic nursing program final evaluation agreed
• Action plan developed to address each of the key recommendations aimed at improving the Advanced Paediatric Cardiac Nursing course
• Development of a 4 year model to further progress nursing
• The inclusion of a broader perspective of attributes for medical staff involved in training programs

The visit involved 2 workshops involving staff from the hospital and parents of children with chronic illnesses. The workshops were a vibrant experience and achieved a significant amount in the limited time available.

Key recommendations from the visit included:

1. Completion of Club Manual in 3-4 months (by end of June 2011) led by senior staff at NHP
2. Development of simple (and gradually more detailed) educational resources for families and provincial staff caring for children with chronic health conditions
3. Designation of key authors at NHP to collaborate with RCHI Team members on a publication of the Club approach at a Patient & Family Centred Care Conference in Victoria in July 2011 (abstracts due March 2011)
4. Within NHP, establish a clear and simple pathway for donations, ensuring    transparency and accountability
5. Clubs to consider forming a united fundraising group.  With a representative from each Club to ensure all interests are met fairly, a ‘group approach’ having more impact to prospective donors and relieve personal stress from members.

The clubs are similar to support groups here in Australia and provide a vital service in assisting familes to understand a variety of diseases and provide support to enable families in a country with limited resources to become better informed.

Previous related visit October 2010

In October 2010, Susan Biggar (Parent & Family Advisory Committee member RCH) and Maurice Hennessy (Senior Program Officer, RCHI) spent one week at NHP in October meeting with staff and families to promote an understanding of the concept of family participation in the Vietnamese context. Key recommendations included:

1. Hospital-wide needs assessment to identify and prioritise areas of greatest need for both general and specific health education of families.
2. Development of a package of standardised written and oral health education for parents
3. Appoint a team including relevant NHP staff and existing Support Club leaders, with support from the Project Management Unit, to develop a manual for beginning new Clubs and maintaining and growing existing Clubs.
4. Identify and establish new Clubs and to expand capacity of current Clubs.

Annie Major

The RCHI team will greatly miss Annie Major, who left the department on February 17^th to take up a position working on an AusAid-funded project in East Timor. She served at RCH as a Senior Program Officer for two and a half years, having previously been with the Brotherhood of St Laurence. During her time with RCHI, Annie was involved with the Education and Training Project in Hanoi. As well, she made excellent contributions to the day to day operations of RCHI and to the development of our strategic plan. She provided a warm welcome to many doctors and nurses from Vietnam who came to RCH to study. Her sparkling sense of humour and generosity of spirit endeared her to all of us. We say a big “thank you!” to Annie and send our very best wishes for a happy and productive time in East Timor.

Garry Warne