Addressing the critical care training needs in Timor Leste

The Office for Global Health has recently been awarded funding from AusAID's Public Sector Linkage Program (PSLP) to build the critical care workforce capacity in Timor Leste via a health education collaboration with the Timorese Ministry of Health, Dili National Hospital of Guido Valadares and the Institute of Health Sciences in 2009. Dr Dilhani Bandaranayake (Manager - International Relations, Office for Global Health), Dr Kirsty Foster (Senior Lecturer in Medical Education, Northern Clinical School), Dr Roger Harris (Emergency Medicine Specialist and Lecturer, Royal North Shore Hospital/ Northern Clinical School) and Dr Lyndal Trevena (Sub Dean - International and Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine) will be working with collaborators in Dili to develop and implement a sustainable three part evidence-based practical skills focused critical care training program that complements current training in the area in Timor Leste. The training program will consist of two practical workshops and one train-the-trainer workshop and from the outset, the program will be developed in collaboration with local staff to address their needs and support them in improving their critical care service. It is aimed at developing an initiative tailored for Timor Leste’s particular level of current capability. To assist with sustainability of training, the team will also formulate an ongoing development plan for nationwide critical care skills training in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Institute of Health Sciences, Dili National Hospital, Regional hospitals, Community Health services and relevant NGOs.