The UTS WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Development is taking a proactive approach to its role in improving health care in the South Pacific Region by working closely with the South Pacific Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officers Alliance. Chief Nurses and Midwives along with educators from all of the South Pacific Islands gathered together this week in New Zealand to update, discuss and plan effective health care policies for the Pacific.
It is an important meeting for the region as it has been organised alongside several other meetings of major decision making groups including the Asia Pacific Emergency and Disaster Nursing Network (APEDNN) and the South Pacific Nursing Forum. UTS WHO Collaborating Centre Director of Operations and Development, Michele Rumsey, was pleased that so many decision makers were attending: "These meetings are extremely important because it is one of the few chances that nurses and midwives from the South Pacific region have to come together and discuss how to improve health systems in their own country and also share exciting projects underway."
The focus of the week-long combination of meetings is to review country, regional and global nursing policies as well as coordinate national and regional work plans. The inspiring goals of the meetings will result in action plans for the next two years that will: Revitalise the commitment to health related Millennium Development Goals; focus on quality improvement and faculty development in nursing and midwifery education; explore quality improvement in patient safety and infection control; develop leadership capacity and succession planning for government chief nursing and midwifery officers; and strengthen the health system for overall population health improvements.
"The Chief Nurses and Midwives meet every two years to revise and update their action plans," says Ms Rumsey. "Because the health system is so dynamic it is vital to keep on top of current issues with strong, workable actions, and building connections between decision-makers helps improve the health system which, in turn, benefits everyone in the Pacific Islands."
The meetings have also attracted globally recognised health care leaders to share their knowledge and expertise, so along with representatives from New Zealand, Tonga, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, PNG, Samoa, Tokelau, Niue, Tuvalu, Nauru, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, and Australia strong ongoing collaborations and comprehensive outcomes are expected.
The meetings have been jointly funded by AusAID, NZAID, New Zealand Department of Health, Commonwealth Secretariat, WHO South Pacific Office, University of Technology, and WHO Western Pacific Regional Office and took place in Auckland, New Zealand from 6-12 November 2010.
Event contact: Michele Rumsey
Director of Operations and Development
UTS WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Development
Michele.Rumsey@uts.edu.au