During November the IFHE Australian Executive Committee member, Darryl Pitcher, travelled to Jakarta in Indonesia to support the good work of IFHE ‘A Member’ HATIMI, where he attended a national seminar.
Backed by the country’s Ministries of Health and Higher Education, staged to promote the benefits of robust, well-planned hospital engineering to improve the outcomes in Indonesian hospitals.
On HATIMI’s invitation, and with support from the IFHE and the Institute of Hospital Engineering Australia (IHEA), he presented to an audience of over 290 delegates on the importance of a hospital engineering association to support the development of engineers, and to promote IFHE and IHEA. Each speaker group took questions throughout the day-long seminar, and provided advice and recommendations on the essential components of hospital engineering, education and training, asset procurement, maintenance, and sustainable design.
Afterwards, a delegation of representatives formed a new organisation to support the broad and diverse needs of hospital engineering in Indonesia. Twentyone individuals, representing universities, hospitals, industry professionals, and the Education and Health Ministries, agreed on the formation of a new body to embrace HATIMI and engage with IFHE and other international and regional associations.
Darryl Pitcher added his signature to the agreement as the international IFHE delegate. A further planning day in December saw the development of a programme of activities. Darryl Pitcher also visited a number of sites in Jakarta, including a biomedical calibration laboratory and pathology service, and, as part of an overnight trip to Surabaya in east Java to visit the University of Airlangga, presented to graduates of the Faculty of Public Health on the importance of hospital engineering, and the benefits of an association to support sustainable hospital facilities and development and training (pictured). He also toured the recently completed University of Airlangga teaching hospital, and the Tropical and Infectious Disease Research Facility, meeting with the University’s director and a number of Faculty heads to discuss the challenges they were facing around hospital engineering. It is planned to build 20 new teaching hospitals across Indonesia under the guidance of the Ministry of Education.
“There is a passion to improve health outcomes for the people of Indonesia, and to further develop local clinicians and health professionals with education in purpose-built teaching facilities that also deliver localised emergency health and clinical solutions,” Darryl Pitcher explained. “The visit is evidence of the good work that can be achieved through collaboration between members of IFHE, and how, with the support of member organisations, more positive outcomes can be achieved as countries share their experiences and support further education and development.”
