June 2015
Issue 6
NZMAT
Newsletter
Picture of the aftermath of Cyclone Pam on the Island of Epi in the Shefa
Province of Vanuatu in March 2015
NZMAT Deployment to Vanuatu – March 2015
Inside this issue
Tropical Cyclone Pam was a Category 5 cyclone, and one of the most
powerful ever seen in the Pacific, that made landfall in Vanuatu on 13th
March 2015. The next day, the first member of the NZMAT Initial
Assessment Team (IAT), Dr Tony Diprose (NZMAT Clinical Lead), departed
New Zealand on the RNZAF Hercules bound for Port Vila, Vanuatu. Tony
was joined the next day by Martin Buet (MoH NZMAT Team Leader) and
Mike ‘Macca’ McEnaney (NZFS NZMAT USAR Logistician).
A NZMAT team of 11, made up of doctors, nurses and USAR logisticians
departed New Zealand on March 25 for a deployment to Vanuatu as part of
the New Zealand Government. response to Cyclone Pam.
Upon arriving in Port Vila, the NZMAT team boarded the HMNZS
Canterbury to make their way to the island of Epi in the Shefa Province of
Vanuatu.
During the deployment, the NZMAT team disembarked the HMNZS
Canterbury to provide a morning clinic at Rovo Bay and a 4 day
deployment to Port Kuimie as well as providing day clinics at various outer
islands where access to healthcare is not easily accessible.
While off the HMNZS Canterbury, the NZMAT team lived on field ration
packs and learnt how to get creative with their meals from their USAR and
NZDF colleagues.
This deployment was the first time NZMAT has worked alongside the
NZDF as well as a NZFS USAR team, which gave an opportunity for all
three organisations to get to know how each better.
Turn to page 3 for pictures from the deployment. (thanks to our NZMAT
members for provision of the photos)
Foreword
2
Get to know the Reference Group
members
5
Deployment to Sierra Leone –
personal experience
6
NZMAT Team Member Courses
2015
7
NZMAT Database
8
Are you ready for Deployment?
9
New NZMAT Documents
10
Upcoming Conferences
12
Foreword: Director Emergency Management, Charles Blanch – Ministry of Health
I’d like to thank all of you who were involved in supporting the deployment of NZMAT
personnel to Vanuatu and the operational planning for staff to possibly be deployed to
Nepal. The first half of 2105 has been extremely busy for all involved in the NZMAT
project and off the back of these deployments the team also delivered a very successful
double round of NZMAT training in Rotorua. They’ve been supported by many of you as
NZMAT practitioners with information, ideas and willingness to free up and support
other staff that were on standby or had been deployed.
World Health Assembly has just met in Geneva from 18th – 26th May and one of the most
significant items was the mandate from member states for the World Health
Organization to revise its approach to managing health emergencies in light on the ongoing response to Ebola
Virus Disease in West Africa.
Foreign Medical Teams (FMTs) are a key element in the development of arrangements to rapidly deploy a global
health emergency workforce to sudden onset disasters and acute public health emergencies, and possibly even
complex humanitarian emergencies (war and conflict). These will be key changes to the international
environment that NZMAT needs to be able to operate in.
I’ve just returned from three months sabbatical working for WHO coordinating Foreign Medical Teams providing
Ebola virus surge clinical capacity in Sierra Leone and the same coordination frameworks that were being used
for a public health emergency were also those in place for FMTs during the response to both Cyclone Pam and
the Nepal Earthquake.
Over the next 12 months we are likely to see work to codify the arrangements for FMT coordination, including
the development and rollout of a global FMT registration platform with a process to verify the stated capability
of teams. Capacity building with Ministries of Health in vulnerable countries to ensure they are able to request
international assistance and effectively coordinate responding teams is critical in enhancing the sovereignty of
an affected country and this is very evident within the South Pacific.
NZMAT will be working with partner agencies to ensure that we continue to meet and operate within relevant
international technical standards and a coordination framework.
There are some unique challenges to providing FMT support following a disaster across geographically
distributed island nations and New Zealand is well placed to operate effectively in this environment.
United Nations – Safety & Security Courses
The UN Department of Safety and Security offer two free online courses:
 Basic Security in the Field (BSITF)
 Advanced Security in the Field (ASITF)
The courses take a few hours to complete and cover topics such as personal security, risk
assessment, how to react to threats and coping psychologically.
To participant in these online courses involves creating an online account via the UNDSS
site.
Access these courses at: https://training.dss.un.org/courses/login/index.php
These courses provide an excellent refresher to that covered on the NZMAT courses and are
mandatory for NZFS USAR personnel.
Visit the NZMAT Website @ http://www.health.govt.nz/nzmat
2
Dr Tony Diprose returning from a ‘recce’ of the
island of Epi via a RAAF Black Hawk helicopter
NZMAT Alpha Vanuatu Team: Back row: Dan van Hoppe (USAR), Murray
Halbert (MoH), Dr Vicki Vertongen (CCDHB), Dick Tolan (USAR), RN
Michael Geraght (ADHB), RN Michelle Peperkoorn (CMDHB), RN
Choinneach ‘Mac’ MacDonald (MDHB)
Front row: Dr Emma Lawrey (ADHB), Justin ‘J’ White (USAR), Stuart
‘Tiger’ McClarery (USAR), RN Kevin Henshall (CMDHB)
Living quarters on the HMNZS
Canterbury
Getting
ready to
depart the
HMNZS
Canterbury
for the
island of Epi
NZDF, Vanuatu Red Cross, NZFS USAR & NZMAT
personnel on board the HMNZS Canterbury
Dr Vicki Vertongen at work on Epi Island
3
Various modes of transport provided by the HMNZS Canterbury
Home away from home!
4
NZMAT Reference Group
The NZMAT Reference Group is
accountable to the Director of Emergency
Management, NZ Ministry of Health.
Get to know the NZMAT Reference Group
Members
Richard Swears, BA/LLB, Dip Bus (PMER), MHlthMgt (Hons),
The objectives of the NZMAT Reference
Group are to advise on:
Intensive Care Paramedic, Emergency Planning and Specialist
1. The purpose and function of NZMAT
and the scope of its operations
On leaving school Richard completed a law
degree and worked as a barrister and solicitor
for the Auckland Crown Solicitors office for a
short period of time before catching the bug
that is pre hospital emergency medicine and
joining St John Ambulance in Auckland.
While with St John he has completed various
clinical qualifications to his current level of
Intensive Care Paramedic. He has also covered
a variety of operational management roles with
St John and through this gained experience in
Emergency Management.
Amongst the more memorable experiences as an operational
manager was his role as Ambulance Operations Manager during the
response to the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. During this time he
also completed his Masters in Health Management through Auckland
University.
Since mid-2013 Richard has been the National Emergency Planning
and Specialist Response Manager for St John which includes
responsibility for representing the Ambulance service on the NZMAT
Reference Group.
When not at work Richard has been known to prove his questionable
sanity by taking part in various cycling events such as the Taupo Cycle
challenge. His wife and three daughters will confirm that there is
cause for concern.
2. The recruitment and selection process
and criteria for NZMAT volunteers
3. The development and selection of
NZMAT work-stream group members
and their work outputs
4. Operational documentation associated
with the NZMAT, including standard
operating procedures
5. Other existing and potential issues that
affect the formation or deployment of a
NZMAT
6. Suitable options for managing any
issues
NZMAT Reference Group Membership
includes representatives from Ministry of
Health Emergency Management team,
Counties Manukau Health, Pasifika Medical
Association, NZ Fire Service —Urban Search
and Rescue and the NZ Defense Force.
Response Manager, St John
Definitive Perioperative Nurse Trauma Course
The Definitive Perioperative Nurse Trauma Course in association with the Definitive Surgical
Trauma Care (DSTC) Course is an opportunity for Perioperative Nurses to focus on surgical
decision making and operative techniques in the care of critically ill trauma patients. This
essential course aims to foster teamwork and collaboration in the multidisciplinary care of
the surgical trauma patient. The unique lecture programme and surgical operative
laboratory will give you insight into difficult trauma situations. The course is aimed at
Registered Nurses with experience in Perioperative Nursing.
When:
3rd, 4th & 5th August 2015
Registration Fee: $700
Enquiry:
Bronwyn Taylor / email btaylor@adhb.govt.nz
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Deployment to Sierra Leone – Personal Experience
Karen Howard – Registered Nurse, Public Health, Whanganui DHB
NB: Karen has registered her interest in joining NZMAT
I spent much of late November 2014 singing a musical clue to my friends and colleagues
to help them guess where I was going. “If you want me, I’ll come running, come running,
come running to you. Sierra, Sierra. Sierra Sierra. Sierra Leone.”
Very few got my musical clue, too young and unfamiliar with the one hit wonder from
Coconut Rough in 1983.
An email into my work inbox from New Zealand Red Cross looking for nurses to support
the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) Ebola response had
arrived the week before.
Was I interested? Of course!
After gaining the support of my employers for the leave (Whanganui DHB – thanks),
talking it over with my daughter (who was extremely supportive and excited for me) and
running it past my academic supervisors (what’s another two months when you’re doing
a PhD right?), I made the call and after a thorough medical, I was accepted. I had
attended the Red Cross training course and had been in their pool of aid workers since
2010, but this would be my first mission.
On the 29th November, I flew to Geneva for intensive training, alongside fellow Kiwi Red Cross nurse Dave Oakes,
from Nelson. After that, we flew to Sierra Leone to work as clinical ward nurses in the IFRC Ebola Treatment
Centre (ETC), supporting the local staff, for a five week stint.
People asked me, was I scared? No, I wasn’t. Nervous yes, but more concerned that I would struggle in the
personal protective equipment (PPE) - aka “all the gear”! When we practised in Geneva my googles fogged up
badly and I couldn’t see - it was cold. Later we all learnt the trick - drown them in anti-fog, a quick ‘spray and
wipe’ won’t cut it!
I had no concerns about getting sick, Red Cross is number 1, and has been doing this work for many, many years:
the training and safety protocols (i.e. infection prevention and control) are stringent.
By the time we arrived in Kenema, the third biggest city in Sierra Leone, nearly all the patients were coming from
Kono, about 5-6 hours’ drive away. After 2 weeks, we were both asked to move to Kono, where Red Cross had set
up a triage centre, alongside local hospital staff, and were about to start building a new hospital.
After a few days in Kono, I was asked to change roles, and become the finance and administration delegate – they
had no one else lined up that could get there that quickly. This involved setting up payroll system and doing
wages for 100 local workers, writing contracts for construction, paying suppliers and organising accommodation
and food for staff. Busy, busy. Working 10 – 12 hour days with no days off. But it was all good fun.
The nursing work was hard emotionally – 50 per cent of your patients die, but 50 per cent live too, so there were
always many happy stories. It was hard physically in the heat, when you are wearing PPE you only work two, one
hour shifts and require around six litres of fluid daily, and much of that needs to be electrolyte drinks. Here’s a
tip, if you’re going, take your own Gatorade from home, the unflavoured rehydration salts tastes awful!
My best memories were the smile on the small boy (who survived ) in the ‘high risk’ area that I gave my Santa hat
to on Christmas Day, which was a particularly fine hat- purple with white trim and a bell which stood straight up in
a point! And the experience of working in an amazing team of professionals- local and international. The local
Red Cross staff are the real heroes, we were only there for five weeks, they have been doing this work for months,
often after losing colleagues, friends and family members.
Would I do it again? Yes. Definitely.
6
NZMAT Team Member Training Courses 2015
Between 29th April and 7th May 2015, two NZMAT Team
Member Courses were held once again at the NZFS
National Training Centre.
NZMAT faculty staff, along with Mark ‘Squiz’ Squirrell
(Global Frontline) and Louise Johnson (NCCTRC AusMAT)
introduced 55 course participants to skills and knowledge
that may be required on an international deployment.
For the first time, NZ participants were joined by clinical
colleagues from Vanuatu, Cook Islands and Tonga.
Amongst the course participants were representatives
from the NZ Defence Force, Ministry of Foreign Affairs &
Trade and NZFS USAR team.
A number of different training opportunities are currently
being explored for 2016 which will include NZMAT Team
Member training. Prerequisite for attendance at a NZMAT
training course is prior registration of interest to join
NZMAT and participation is by invitation only. Selection
priority is aimed to ensure NZMAT deployable modules
have the appropriate pool of trained members to select
from when a team is being assembled for deployment.
For further information regarding the NZMAT Team
Member training course, please contact the NZMAT
Programme Manager: judy.fairgray@middlemore.co.nz
Feedback received from course participants:
“Just wanted to pass onto you how much I enjoyed,
and how beneficial, I thought the NZMAT course
was.” Intensive Care Paramedic
“I would like to sincerely thank you for the wonderful
opportunity to participate at the NZMAT Team
Member course 2015 which I found intellectually
challenging and fun. The faculty team did an
excellent job of delivering this intensive and
challenging 4 day course…. I also learned from the
contributions of other participants.” Support
Services Manager
“… an excellent few days and I learnt a huge
amount. In particular the immersion exercise was
brilliant..” Public Health Physician
Course 1 Participants & Faculty staff: 29th April – 2nd May 2015
“…It was by far the best course I have attended.”
Registered Nurse, Emergency Care
Course 2 Participants & Faculty staff: 4th – 7th May 2015
7
NZMAT’s New Database for Trained Members
NZMAT has implemented a new database – D4H – to maintain
up-to-date information about trained NZMAT members and
quickly identify NZMAT members who meet all the
requirements for readiness to be deployed. D4H is a dedicated
personnel management tool and is also used by several Land
Search and Rescue Groups in New Zealand. It provides a
personal secure portal for trained members.
All trained NZMAT members (completed a NZMAT or AusMAT
recognised course) should have received an invite to register
on D4H. If you have not received an invitation please contact
the NZMAT Programme Manager.
It is important that all trained members ensure all fields are
complete and required documentation has been supplied. New fields have been added since most NZMAT
members first registered their interest in volunteering with NZMAT. Incomplete information may prevent or
delay deployment. As members do not have the ability to upload documentation into D4H it is important to send
scanned copies to the NZMAT Programme Manager who will upload the information.
D4H allows the NZMAT member to indicate when they are unavailable (i.e. on annual leave / away at conferences
etc.) for deployment by accessing the ‘on-call’ section. NB: The system automatically puts members ‘on-call’ by
default. Keeping your availability status up-to-date prevents you receiving unnecessary phone calls regarding
deployments.
D4H has the fuctionalities of a whiteboard where updates on current deployments are posted, a real-time
collaboration whiteboard when NZMAT members can participate in discussions as well as the ability for NZMAT
members to receive test messages from NZMAT management staff.
Health professionals interested in joining NZMAT, are required to submit a ‘Registeration of Interest’ application –
the form can be found on the NZMAT website @ https://www.health.govt.nz/nzmat
Aftermath of Cyclone Pam on the island of Epi, Vanuatu – March 2015
8
Are you ready for Deployment?
What personal items should you bring on a deployment?
To be able to provide medical assistance in a disaster area, NZMAT
members will need to be registered in the affected country.
To assist with the registration process, it is the responsibility of the
NZMAT member to provide (and keep up to date) the NZMAT
Programme Manager with the following documentation:
 Professional CV
 Medical, Nursing or other professional registration
 Relevant training qualification / certificates
 Letter of ‘good standing’ from their professional
organisation
This document should be provided electronically as part of the
NZMAT member registration on the NZMAT D4H database.
It is also a requirement that NZMAT members bring with them on a deployment the following documentation:
A hard copy of:
 Passport and any relevant visa pages (i.e. NZ Permanent / Returning Resident) (certified copy)
 Driving licence (certified copy)
 Professional CV
 Medical, Nursing or other professional registration
 Relevant training qualification / certificates
 Letter of ‘good standing’ from their professional organisation
 Policy and account numbers for personal, home, care insurance etc. so that any unforeseen issues can
be resolved
NB: These documents should also be scanned to a USB (password protected) and in a secure web-based
cloud service so that they are readily available.
If you are unsure about any of the deployment requirements for NZMAT personnel please contact the NZMAT
Programme Manager Judy Fairgray at Judy.Fairgray@middlemore.co.nz
Pictures of Nepal post the 7.8 earthquake in April 2015
NZMAT will deploy only at the request of the local medical authority in the disaster area
9
New NZMAT Documentation
New documentation has been placed up on the NZMAT website
https://www.health.govt.nz/nzmat:
 NZMAT Code of Conduct Form
 NZMAT Child Protection Policy
 NZMAT Ethical Photography Guidelines
 NZMAT Child Protection Code of Conduct Form
 NZMAT Child Images Usage Form
All NZMAT members are required to have read these documents and signed the following forms:
 NZMAT Code of Conduct Form
 NZMAT Child Protection Code of Conduct Form
 NZMAT Child Images Usage Form
Please return these signed forms electronically to the NZMAT Programme Manager – Judy Fairgray @
Judy.Fairgray@middlemore.co.nz
E-Learning Course
Interested in expanding your knowledge around the Sphere Project – Humanitarian
Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response?
The Sphere Project has an E-learning course available – Sphere Handbook in Action – which
aims to strengthen the effective use of the Sphere Handbook.
Taking the course is free of charge. No academic qualifications are required. Each person
may take the course at her or his own pace.
The course brings the Handbook to life through the use of realistic scenarios, helping the
learner to get acquainted with its core messages and to understand how to use it
holistically.
For more information go to:
http://www.sphereproject.org/learning/e-learning-course/
To be considered for a NZMAT deployment you need:

Have registered your interest to join NZMAT

Completed a NZMAT Team Member training course

A valid passport, valid for at least 6 months prior to expiry date

Up-to-date vaccinations

Completed and maintained D4H profile
For more information regarding deployment requirements, please review the
NZMAT Operations Manual which can be found at:
http://www.health.govt.nz/nzmat
10
Master of Disaster Health Care
New Online Course Offering for Health Professionals
Have you been deployed in the past two years? Are you wanting to expand your MIMMS and
AusMAT training?
Take advantage of an exciting new opportunity to attain a post graduate qualification in
Disaster Health Care.
Flinders University, together with the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre
(NCCTRC), have formed a partnership to develop this program which will provide tertiary level
disaster education to health care professionals; including nurses, doctors and paramedics. It
will be fully online.
As of Semester 2, 2015, (27 July) Flinders University will be offering this new course: Master of
Disaster Health Care.
The program
The Master of Disaster Health Care is designed for domestic and international students who have obtained a
bachelor degree in a health profession and who wish to expand their knowledge, preparedness, and response
capability for local, national and international disaster events. Students can choose either a course work or
research pathway in a nested program with exit points at graduate certificate and graduate diploma levels. This
program is unique in that it is the first program in the region which provides health care professionals an
operational focus to disaster response at a tertiary level.
Eligibility
You must hold an approved bachelor-level degree or equivalent qualification in a health profession from an
approved tertiary institution and have not less than two years’ professional experience in the health care sector
following completion of the degree or equivalent qualification. In addition, you must demonstrate that you have:
 Completed an NCCTRC-approved MIMMS (Major Incident Medical Management and Support)
Commander course within the past two (2) years AND
 Completed an NCCTRC-endorsed AusMAT/NZMAT Team Member Training Course within the past two (2)
years OR
 Been deployed to a declared disaster as part of an Australian Government team (or approved equivalent)
within the past two (2) years.
How to enrol
We hope that you will take the time to consider this exciting opportunity. For more information about the
program you can view our webpage:
http://flinders.edu.au/nursing/studentsandcourses/nursing/postgraduate/master/master_home.cfm
Enrolment Inquiries:
Phone: (+618) 8201 5340
Email: sonm.pgprograms@flinders.edu.au
Website: www.flinders.edu.au/nursing
Topic Contact:
Dr Julian Grant, Senior Lecturer Nursing
School of Nursing & Midwifery, Flinders University
Phone: (+618) 8201 5340
Email: julian.grant@flinders.edu.au
11
Upcoming Conferences
The World Conference on Disaster Management
8th – 11th June 2015
Toronto, Canada
For further information: http://www.wcdm.org
17th Annual Cook Islands Health Conference
20th – 22nd July 2015
Rarotonga
For further information please contact the Conference
Co-ordinator Helen Sinclair: h.sinclair@health.gov.ck
Culture, Community & Healing: Child, Youth & Family
Mental Health in the Pacific
Faculty of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 2015
Conference in conjunction with Pasifika Medical
Association & Vanuatu Medical & Dental Association
29th September – 2nd October 2015
Vanuatu
For further information: http://www.child2015.com/
People in Disasters: Response Recovery Resilience
24th – 26th February 2016
Christchurch, New Zealand
For further information: www.peopleindisasters.org.nz
Do you have?
Have you got a conference, seminar
or teaching session that would be of
interest to NZMAT volunteers?
If so, send details to the NZMAT Programme Manager
for distribution :
Judy.Fairgray@middlemore.co.nz
12
Have you visited the NZMAT Website?
Its official - NZMAT has its own website!
The website is hosted by the Ministry of Health and can be accessed
it via http://www.health.govt.nz/nzmat.
Is there is any information you are
looking not found on the website let
the NZMAT Programme Manager.
On this website you can find information covering the following
areas:
 About NZMAT
 Volunteering information
 Background
 Applying
 Deployment
 Notice of deployment
 Reference Group
 Prerequisites for
volunteering
 Team Structure
 Training
 Photos
 What to expect on
 Information about any
deployment
current deployment
 Resources
 Related publications
 Employer information  Related websites
 Past Newsletter
editions
 Q & A sheet
For Further Information about the NZMAT Contact:
Judy Fairgray
NZMAT Programme Manager
Judy.Fairgray@middlemore.co.nz
Charles Blanch
Director, Emergency Management – MoH
Charles_Blanch@moh.govt.nz
Martin Buet
Regional Emergency Management Advisor (Midlands) – MoH
Martin_Buet@moh.govt.nz
Do you have a burning question related to NZMAT?
Is there information you would like to see in
Newsletter?
Send your questions and comments to:
Judy.Fairgray@middlemore.co.nz
13