The alfred ICU international program: fiji-colonial war memorial hospital, suva & alfred icu collaboration teaching (fact) project

Abstract

Introduction: Fiji is a low-income country. Health care services are distributed between four health care delivery Divisions. The Colonial War Memorial (CWM) Hospital in Suva is one of the three Divisional Hospitals, with the largest intensive care unit (ICU) in Fiji. CWM Hospital provides basic skills training for health care providers from other South Pacific countries. However, there is a lack of specialist medical and nurse training, including in critical care, in the region. In 2014 CWM Hospital partnered with The Alfred ICU to assist with the provision of critical care education and training. Aims: To improve critical care delivery in the South Pacific by sharing the expertise of Alfred ICU staff. To evaluate the delivery of intensive care education by the Alfred ICU in CWM Hospital. Methods: Alfred ICU staff have delivered courses to doctors at CWM Hospital since 2015 on a variety of topics, including Medical Basic Assessment and Support in Intensive care (BASIC) course. To further enhance delivery of care, in 2019 the Alfred ICU team provided the first formal Nursing BASIC course for intensive care and high dependency unit nurses. Course evaluation was undertaken with pre- and post-course testing of participants. Results: Over 150 doctors from different South Pacific countries have participated in courses delivered by the Alfred ICU at CWM Hospital since 2015. In 2019 the delivery of our first formal nursing course has showed an improvement of knowledge related to critical care nursing of up to 40% by comparing pre and post-course MCQ marks. Conclusion: The Alfred ICU has supported critical care education for both medical and nursing staff in Fiji. Through an ongoing partnership, we will continue to assist CWM Hospital and Fiji National University to develop an appropriate curriculum for both medical and nursing Intensive care training in the South Pacific.