Mater gives back to overseas neonatal care

31/Aug/2020     HealthMater Group

Timor-Leste experiences the heartbreaking result of insufficient resources to provide acute care to babies in need after being born on a daily basis. With many premature babies dying shortly after birth, the lack of equipment at Timorese hospitals has a devastating affect on the community.

Mater’s Katherine Jackman discovered this for herself when she was invited to travel to Timor-Leste as part of the Timor Awakening program – an initiative from Brisbane based charity Veterans Care Association; a holistic health peer to peer wellness program for Australian veterans, reconnecting some of the veterans with regions they once served.

Timor-Leste was a major area of operations for Australia in WWII and over 30,000 peacekeepers served there from 1999 to 2010. Whilst the country is now very peaceful and independent, it remains challenged by the aftermath of war with widespread poverty and limited infrastructure.

Whilst on Timor Awakening in late 2019, Katherine visited the Dili National Hospital in an effort to explore healthcare in the region. Katherine saw the general hospital wards displayed some of the downfalls expected of a third world country environment, however she described the neonatal intensive care unit as very difficult to see.

“The team on the unit shared with me that perinatal mortality were at a really high rate, and the sadness of seeing babies unable to receive the care they so desperately needed was evident on their faces,” Katherine said.

“I asked the team leader if there was one thing they could wish for what would it be? They told me they needed machines to provide babies with the support they need to live, and emphasised any neonatal equipment including humidicribs would be appreciated.”

In true Mater spirit, upon returning home from the trip, Katherine was determined to see what help Mater could offer this hospital in need.

“I spoke with the team at Mater Mothers’ and we found that the South Brisbane campus had a small amount of neonatal equipment no longer in use by the hospital but within factory-standard safety having the possibility of use in the future.”

Mater’s Biomedical Engineering Manager, Chad Mercer explained that the ongoing advances seen in healthcare mean many items are regularly replaced with newer models.

“When it comes to technology and resources in the healthcare space, they are constantly changing," Chad said. 

“Many items get regularly upgraded but leave behind fully functional pieces of equipment with a lot of life left in them, and our team direct these items elsewhere to be repurposed at places  in need.”

The Biomedical Engineering team and Mater Mothers’ worked together with Katherine to transfer neonatal equipment through to both Timor-Leste’s National Referral Hospital and regional Timor-Leste District capital Maliana.

“We worked to transfer the incubator cribs, packaging them up with some other general hospital supplies including alcohol swabs for better hygiene,” Katherine added.

The generous donation was very-well received by the teams on the ground in Timor-Leste, with staff seen hugging incubators that were set to save many tiny lives.

Katherine said this initiative has been a wonderful connection of Mater working with veterans to help the global community.

“The people of Timor-Leste were quick to support stranded Australian soldiers in need of medical support through ongoing combat and were responsible for saving many Australian lives.”

“Like many contemporary Australian Veterans, I am proud of my service in supporting the Timorese on their pathway to freedom and independence, and this has been a wonderful opportunity to impart Mater’s Mission to meet unmet need in the community by giving to hospitals in need.”

Public relations contacts

07 3163 6142