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A stomal therapist in Kenya
Australian nurse heads to Africa to train nurses amid danger.
Three years ago, a call went out for stomal therapy nurses from Australia to help implement a new training program in Kenya, and Trish Griffin was one of the people who answered.
The call came from Elizabeth English, from the Royal Adelaide Hospital, on behalf of staff from the Aga Khan University
Hospital in Nairobi. English was looking for nurses to help get the Kenyan Stoma, Wound and Continence Nurse Specialist training program off the ground.
Griffin, who is a stomal therapy nurse with the Royal District Nursing Service( RDNS) and has since been visiting the country during her annual leave time each year, said she didn’ t know what to expect when she and her fellow nurses first left for Kenya.
The team landed in Nairobi just two months after 67 people were killed during an attack by an extremist group on the local shopping mall.
Griffin said the tragedy was a salient reminder that there was not only a clear and present danger, but also a clear, present and ongoing need for help.
“ You know that there’ s danger there,” Griffin said.“ You know that there’ s going to be different obstacles but the reality is that it’ s real – it’ s in front of you – you’ re seeing people that have been shot; that have been spared; that have had cancer that hasn’ t be diagnosed, so it’ s got to the point that it’ s actually erupting out of their bodies because they didn’ t have access to pre-screening or chemotherapy; you’ ve got children with the most horrific burns, burns that you just cannot imagine that they would survive; and even injuries and wounds that here you wouldn’ t think people could live through.” ■
Build a dementia-friendly council
Alzheimer’ s Australia has advice for developing supportive, inclusive communities.
Take small steps to embed dementia-friendly principles into council functions, find champions and consult with members of the community who have dementia and their families and carers.
These are just some of the tips from Alzheimer’ s Australia Vic’ s new toolkit that aims to help councils make their local community more dementia-friendly.
The resource, Creating Dementiafriendly Communities: A Toolkit for Local Government, provides resources and guidance for building on existing infrastructure, systems and services.
In the toolkit, Guy Walter from Macedon Ranges Shire Council states:“ Councils need to know how they can build on what they already have to ensure they can support dementia-friendly initiatives across their communities.”
Alzheimer’ s Australia Vic general manager of learning and development, Dr David Sykes, said local councils are ideally placed to ensure that communities are vibrant, inclusive and supportive of all citizens, including people living with dementia.
Sykes said:“ We are keen for the toolkit to help council staff to understand that in partnership with people living with dementia they can become more dementia-friendly without having a big budget to work with.”
The toolkit was launched by UK dementia expert Philly Hare, program manager at UK social policy research charity Joseph Rowntree Foundation, who led their‘ Dementia without Walls’ program, which examines how the UK can be improved for people with dementia.
Hare said everyone has a part to play in ensuring people with dementia remain connected in their local community but added the role of local governments is particularly significant because they deliver services, build infrastructure and set policies that have a direct impact on how the community operates.
“ I’ m really pleased that the toolkit stresses to councils the importance of working with people with dementia to identify ways they can become more dementia-friendly, as these direct insights are invaluable and help to ensure any changes made do meet their needs,” Hare said. ■
10 agedcareinsite. com. au