June 2014 Issue 4 NZMAT Newsletter Picture of the aftermath of the 8.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Chile on the 2nd April 2014 NZMAT Training Courses Inside this issue Two NZMAT Team Member Courses – March 2014 Foreword 2 NZMAT Training Courses 3 Solomon Islands Flooding Disaster – April 2014 4 NZMAT Deployment – April / May 2014 5 Personal Deployment Account – Team Alpha 7 What is NZMAT up to? 8 Personal Deployment Account – Team Bravo 9 CM Health’s role in a NZMAT Deployment 12 Are you ready for Deployment? 13 Between 14th and 21st March 2014 two NZMAT Team Member courses were held in Rotorua, at the New Zealand Fire Service (NZFS) National Training Centre. NZMAT faculty were joined by their NCCTRC AusMAT colleagues to introduce 60 course participants to skills and knowledge that may be required on an international deployment. For the first time course participants included representatives from the New Zealand Defence Force, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFAT) and the New Zealand Urban Search and Rescue Team (USAR) who joined participants from a wide range professions including surgeons, anaesthetists, psychiatrists, public health and primary care physicians, emergency medicine specialists, flight nurses, theatre nurses, emergency nurses, primary care nurses, mental health nurses, midwives, environmental health & health protection officers, anaesthetic technicians, psychologists, radiographers and paramedics. Nick Coatsworth, Abi Trewin and Bronte Martin from the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre at the Royal Darwin Hospital in Australia and Mark Squirrell (Squiz) from Global Frontline presented interactive topics such as convoy driving, navigation and communication (GPS and radio use), Tropical and Infectious diseases, media management, situational awareness, principles of negotiation and survival in austere environments. Simon Hill, Station Officer at the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service in Australia was on hand to assist with logistic related queries. Charles Blanch and Martin Buet from the Ministry of Health along with Mike Continued on page 3 Foreword: Director Emergency Management, Charles Blanch – Ministry of Health The last six months have been an incredibly busy time in the Foreign Medical Team and NZMAT space and unfortunately the area that suffered most as a result was this newsletter. The end of the year ended with Vaughan Poutawera (orthopaedic surgeon, Bay of Plenty) and Jay White (USAR Auckland) being deployed as part of the AusMAT Bravo rotation to Tacloban in the Philippines in response to Cyclone Haiyan. Cyclone Haiyan was one of the most destructive cyclones ever recorded and resulted in a level 3 WHO declaration (the highest) and affected over 14 million people displacing 4 million from their homes. That deployment with AusMAT was successfully reversed with the inclusion of two AusMAT doctors on each rotation to the Solomon Island flooding. In between these significant deployments we successfully ran two back to back Team Members training courses for 30 people each (last years was 25). It was pleasing to hear in the Solomon Island’s hot debriefing that many of the scenarios were directly relevant to the mission – though I hope that future training events are not followed by a disaster so soon. Personnel within NZMAT have also been involved in working with the WHO Western Pacific Region to evaluate the effectiveness and coordination of the 155 Foreign Medical teams that deployed. Ministry staffs have also been activated to attend the MFAT crisis centre for Cyclone Ian and several other events during cyclone season. Thankfully NZMAT support was not required for most of these. Most recently Martin Buet and I were able to attend the AusMAT Team Leaders meeting in Canberra and reconnect with representatives from all states and territories. There is a strong commitment to ensure we continue to lever off respective experiences and capability development in both countries. I’ll be progressing this during July when I’m seconded for 4 weeks to the National Critical Care Trauma Centre in Darwin to cover their director whilst he is on leave. Whilst I’m there I will be running a project on interoperability between NZMAT and AusMAT with regard to some of our SOPs, training and equipment. At the end of July we’ll be sending a NZMAT clinician alongside a colleague from the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management at a workshop in Fiji to examine the health disaster risk management framework and the development of Field Medical Team (FMT) coordination arrangements in the region. So why’s this all relevant? I think it’s indicative of the significant progress over the last two years with NZMAT and the high regard held for the professionalism and knowledge of everybody involved – whether they are deployees, part of the wider team helping to review documents and SOPs or the team in the background that enable it and make it happen. The Solomon Islands deployment has proven this capability and the Team Members course next year will be much more Kiwi led as a result. Vaughan Poutawera (Orthopaedic Surgeon) on Of course there’s always things we can improve and that’s why deployment in the Philippines in November 2013 as we debrief but I’d like to finish by thanking everyone who has part of AusMAT Bravo Deployment Team supported this work over the last 6 months. Visit the NZMAT Website @ http://www.health.govt.nz/nzmat 2 NZMAT Training Courses McEnaney from the NZFS and USAR presented on topics such as an overview of the NZMAT deployment and Government agencies processes and the deployment process through the USAR base in Auckland. Debbie Sorensen from the Pasifika Medical Association presented on Pacific health and cultural awareness. Guest speakers presented on psychological preparedness for deployment and ‘stories from the field’ – experiences from previous deployments. continued from Page 1 Feedback received from course participants: “I just wanted to say thank you to the NZMAT team for an outstanding and impressive 3 day course. I learnt so much and was indeed challenged” RN, Emergency Department Each course included a field immersion where participants were given opportunities to put into practice the skills and knowledge gained during the classroom sessions. After a short rest period post the 2014 March courses, NZMAT faculty staff are back on board and have begun planning for proposed 2015 NZMAT Team Member courses. Prerequisite for attendance at a NZMAT Team Member course is being a registered NZMAT volunteer and participation is by invitation only. The number of registered volunteers exceeds training places and selection priority is aimed to ensure NZMAT deployable modules have the appropriate pool of trained volunteers to select from when a team is being assembled for deployment. Dates for the 2015 courses are 29th April to 2nd May and 4th to 7th May, again in Rotorua. “… real life experiences of trainers – examples made very real… being put into situations beyond comfort zone and having to cope and then having situations talked through in a very supportive and constructive way…” Physician, Public Health “… thank you so much for organising this amazing 3 days training… I am now realising that the training was maybe not about the craft of respective professions or dealing with patients but all about my ability to cope within an unknown team and working or trying to work in the same direction respecting each other whilst allowing everyone to blossom in their own role and get the best our from people… and obviously learning new tasks orientated skills..” RN, Primary Care Course 1 Participants and Faculty staff – 15th – 17th March 2014 “Best course I’ve attended for a long time!” Consultant, Aeromedical and Rural Hospital “Awesome... thoroughly enjoyed every aspect... lots of laughs but plenty of learnings” Fire Fighter / USAR “Thank you very much indeed for providing such a powerful course.” Consultant, Emergency Medicine Course 2 Participants and Faculty staff – 19th – 21st March 2014 3 Solomon Islands Flooding Disaster – early April 2014 The following is a news article the Ministry of Health released on April 8 th, 2014: New Zealand disaster medicine specialist deployed to Solomons Mr Alan Goodey, a consultant anaesthetist from Waikato District Health Board and a member of the New Zealand Medical Assistance Team (NZMAT), has arrived in the Solomon Islands to assist with the response to severe flooding. Mr Goodey deployed via Hercules with ten other New Zealanders from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), the New Zealand Defence Force and NGOs as part of the assistance provided in response to a request from the Solomon Islands Government for humanitarian and health support. He will provide clinical leadership support to Honiara National Referral Hospital and advice on whether any additional clinical or medical supply support is required. He has already met with the Medical Superintendent, Dr Arron Oritaimae, to discuss what support will be required while further assessment of the situation is carried out today. Ministry of Health Director of Emergency Management, Charles Blanch, says Mr Goodey’s involvement is due to a major cooperative effort. “The Ministry of Health has been working closely with MFAT, who are covering all deployment and consumable costs. Around 300kg of requested medical supplies have also been deployed. “I’d like to acknowledge the work of Counties Manukau DHB and New Zealand Fire Service USAR in enabling uniform issue and collection of medical supplies, as well as Waikato DHB in releasing Mr Goodey. “Mr Goodey’s experience and expertise will make a real difference on the ground in the Solomons.” Mr Blanch say the Pasifika Medical Association were also invaluable in identifying a suitable clinician and providing points of contact with Solomon Islands Health. Mr Goodey led the NZ Health response to the Samoan Tsunami in 2009 and has subsequently completed both Australian Medical Assistance Teams (AUSMAT) training at the National Critical Care Trauma and Response Centre in Darwin, and domestic NZMAT training. Ministry of Health staff will continue to monitor the situation in the Solomons and work with other government and non-government agencies on further appropriate responses. Source: The New Zealand Herald Sunday 6 April 2014 – Flooding in Honiara in the Solomon Islands Photo / World Vision 4 Solomon Islands NZMAT Deployment – April / May 2014 Following an official request from the Solomon Islands Government in April 2014, the New Zealand Government authorised the first NZMAT lead deployment involving two teams of NZMAT trained registered volunteers. Team Alpha deployed on 15th April consisting of: Team Bravo deployed on 27th April consisting of: Emergency Management Advisor (Team Leader) – Ministry of Health Emergency Medicine Consultant (Clinical Leader) – Auckland DHB Emergency Medicine Consultant – Northland DHB Public Health Physician – Canterbury DHB Registered Nurses x 4 from Nelson / Marlborough DHB, Counties Manukau DHB, Midcentral DHB, Waikato DHB NZ Fire Service Urban Search & Rescue Logisticians x 2 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Liaison Officer x 1 Australian Medical Assistance Team (AusMAT) doctors x2 Team Alpha (left to right): Martin Buet (MoH), Dan van Hoppe (NZFS), Dr Christopher Denny (ADHB), Dr Kavita Varshney (AusMAT), RN Michelle Peperkoorn (CMDHB), RN Michael McNabb (NMDHB), Dr Scott Cameron (NDHB), Warren Glassford (NZFS), Dr Alistair Humphrey (CDHB), RN Lucas Fraser (WDHB), Dr Adrienne Deans (AusMAT) Emergency Management Advisor (Team Leader) – Ministry of Health Paediatrician (Clinical Leader) – Lakes DHB Public Health Physician – Bay of Plenty DHB Registered Nurses x 4 from Counties Manukau DHB (2), Southern DHB, self-employed NZ Fire Service Urban Search & Rescue Logisticians x 2 AusMAT doctors x 2 Team Bravo (left to right): Brett Southey (NZFS), Michael McEnaney (NZFS), Murray Halbert (MoH), Dr Andrew Magness (AusMAT), RN Catherine Sinclair (SDHB), RN Kevin Hensall (CMDHB), RN Helen Polley (CMDHB), Dr Ruth Lennox (LDHB), Dr Phil Shoemack (BoPDHB), Dr Sarah Coombes (AusMAT), RN Joy Millar (independent) Both teams provided medical assistance by working alongside the local medical staff in the Emergency Department at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara. This edition of the NZMAT Newsletter includes articles from two NZMAT volunteers who deployed to the Solomon Islands – Dr Christopher Denny (Clinical Leader – Team Alpha from Auckland DHB) and RN Helen Polley (Team Bravo from Counties Manukau DHB). 5 NZMAT Reference Group The NZMAT Reference Group is accountable to the Director of Emergency Management, NZ Ministry of Health. The objectives of the NZMAT Reference Group are to advise on: 1. The purpose and function of NZMAT and the scope of its operations 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. Pictures from the Solomon Islands Deployment – April / May 2014 Team Alpha arriving in Honiara, Solomon Islands Our AusMAT colleagues (part of Team Bravo) Dr Sarah Coombes and Dr Andrew Magness at work at the National Referral Hospital, Honiara, Solomon Islands RN Michelle Peperkoorn (Team Alpha) at the triage desk, National Referral Hospital, Honiara, Solomon Islands To be considered for a NZMAT deployment you need: To be registered on the NZMAT Volunteer Database A valid passport, valid for at least 6 months prior to expiry date Up-to-date vaccinations For more information regarding deployment requirements, please review the NZMAT Operations Manual which can be found at: http://www.health.govt.nz/nzmat 6 Solomon Islands NZMAT Deployment – Personal Account from Team Alpha’s Clinical Team Leader Dr Christopher Denny, Emergency Medicine Consultant, Auckland DHB The New Zealand Medical Assistance Team deploys to the Solomon Islands In early April 2014, sustained heavy rainfall triggered flash flooding in Guadalcanal, the Solomon Islands. This sudden onset disaster displaced tens of thousands of people, with the destruction of existing infrastructure and the consequent contamination of water supplies. In response, the Solomon Islands Government requested medical assistance from New Zealand. http://www.wpro.who.int/southpacific/programmes/health_s ector/emergencies/solomons-flashfloods-2014/en/ This preamble helps explain how we ended up on a plane to Honiara, serving as the Ministry of Health New Zealand Medical Assistance Team Alpha. Our team included health care professionals (nurses and doctors) from across New Zealand, plus two Emergency Medicine specialists from Australia. We were led by Mr. Martin Buet (MOH). One of our first objectives was to create a sense of ‘swift trust’ within our team, crucial given we were to spend the next fortnight looking after patients together. We needed to turn a ‘team of experts into an expert team’: http://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/22/5/369.abstra ct The New Zealand Medical Assistance Team is a recent creation of the Ministry of Health; this mission was the first major NZMAT deployment: http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/new-zealandmedical-assistance-team The World Health Organization looks to standardize our Foreign Medical Team (FMT) emergency response: http://www.who.int/hac/global_health_cluster/fmt/e n/ In essence, NZMAT were tasked with lending a helping hand to our neighbour in need. It was an honour to spend time caring for the people of the Solomon Islands. They consistently demonstrated courage, patience and equanimity with the members of our team. Clinical presentations to the National Referral Hospital Emergency Department humbled us with their pace and intensity. Amongst the myriad presentations of diarrheal and other febrile illnesses, Dr Chris Denny and members of Team Alpha greeting Team Bravo upon their arrival in the Solomon Islands one case is seared into my memory. A young woman presented in status epilepticus: As we resuscitated her, the constellation of hypoglycemia, soaring fever and point-of-care Malaria rapid detection kit diagnosed her with Plasmodium falciparum cerebral malaria. A few days later she made a full recovery. One highlight for our team was blending public health with acute care medicine. In collaboration with our public health physician and the World Health Organization, precise case definitions at triage helped Team Alpha’s Logisticians Warren Glassford and Dan van Hoppe at work at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara Solomon Islands – ensuring all smoke detectors were operational! 7 Dr Chris Denny at work at the National Referral Hospital in Honiara Solomon Islands to provide real-time syndromic surveillance. Access to clean water was and remains a massive challenge for those affected by the flash floods. Further, malnutrition is affecting many young children in the region. Many governmental and non-governmental organizations are working together to provide the people of the Solomon Islands with access to these essential resources. Our deployment finished with an ‘in-country’ handover to NZMAT Team Bravo. Upon returning home we met with the Ministry of Health to debrief our mission. We would like to thank our work colleagues in the various DHBs for their clinical and administrative support while we were overseas on deployment. Further, it was an honour to serve alongside our colleagues from the New Zealand Fire Service (Urban Search and Rescue) and the Australian Medical Assistance Team (AusMAT). Many thanks to Charlie, Judy, Vicky et al. for their energy and commitment to NZMAT. ∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞ National Referral Hospital, Honiara, Solomon Islands Christopher Denny, MD, MSc, FRCPC, FACEP, FACEM Clinical Team Leader (Alpha), New Zealand Medical Assistance Team Senior Medical Officer in Emergency Medicine Auckland HEMS Medical Director, the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust Honorary Senior Lecturer, the University of Auckland What is NZMAT up to? Behind the scenes there is a hive of activity being undertaken, which includes: The NZMAT Operational Manual is being updated and converted in a National NZMAT Manual – Preparedness, deployment and postdeployment activities of New Zealand Medical Assistance Teams (NZMAT) domestically and internationally 17 hot and cold debriefs and follow on workshops conducted following the Solomon Islands deployment Drafted an aide memoire for team and clinical leaders to use in the field Participation in the re-established Australian AusMAT Working Group Working groups developing protocols around NZMAT deployable modules Working group confirming medical equipment and supplies kits required for a NZMAT to be selfsufficient for the first 2 weeks of a deployment MoH and clinical group working with DHB’s and professional bodies discussing salary reimbursement guidelines for deployed personnel Represented New Zealand at the East Asian Summit on Rapid Disaster Response and Foreign Medical Teams 8 Solomon Islands NZMAT Deployment – Personal Account from Team Bravo’s Helen Polley, Registered Nurse, Counties Manukau Health All of us involved in NZMAT listen to the news avidly when there has been a disaster somewhere, I am sure I’m not the only one. The flood that occurred in the Solomon Island in April caused a bit of discussion amongst my colleagues and friends. I knew a few people in CMDHB Emergency Department who had been contacted about going but I heard nothing….. The week before Easter I received a call from Judy Fairgray asking if I was interested in going to the Solomon Islands as part of the Bravo Team, indeed I was. The nature of the deployment called for ED skills which is why ED staff had been chosen for the Alpha team, the Bravo team had a differing scope of skills – most of us didn’t primarily have an ED skill set and the compilation changed slightly due to the feedback that the Alpha team had given NZMAT, for example our team had a paediatrician included, the lovely Ruth Lennox which was an advantage. I felt the training weekend in Rotorua which I had completed in March 2014 set us up well for the deployment; some situations would have been more difficult had we not had some idea of what to expect. Below are a few examples where the training was beneficial: The arrival at the USAR base where the fabulous team there reformatted us, our clothing and our gear. Very slickly done and highly organized – right down to having the correct sized uniforms waiting for you (you do get a chance to exchange them though if body habitat has changed a bit!) Experiencing mixed emotions, very natural and expected but it was good to know that excitement, a bit of nervousness and a desire not to make a complete fool of myself in front of strangers was all quite normal Helen Polley organising her equipment bag at the USAR Base in Pitt Street Auckland prior to departure to the Solomon Islands as part of Team Bravo On our day off during the deployment some of our team encountered civilian road blocks asking for money and creating a bit of a scene but thanks to the planning of the training weekend everyone was able to handle the situation calmly and with a sense of authority (these things also provide fodder for good stories) The training weekend prepared us for a lot more than these examples so if you do get invited to attend one then take note and enjoy it because it is full of very relevant information. It was intriguing to see how well a group of 11 people who didn’t know each other could become a team in such a short period of time. Nine of us left Auckland airport, we picked up Andrew and Sarah, our two fab Australian team members in Brisbane and by the time we landed in Honiara we were “THE BRAVO TEAM”. Honiara, Solomon Islands April 2014 – the only way to cross the river due to the bridge being washed away due to recent flooding 9 Living and travelling conditions were considerably better than I had expected. I was prepared for military style tents and showering arrangements but our accommodation was actually in a hotel so air conditioning and normal bathrooms was what we had to “put up with”. I must say that these wee treats were very much appreciated after working 10hr shifts in 35 - 40 degree heat at times. In our debrief back in NZ it was explained by Charlie Blanch that if at all possible deployment teams would always be accommodated comfortably, this certainly helps one’s ability to work well. It’s important to acknowledge that great accommodation is not always possible and there are many colleagues who have been on deployments without such luxury so don’t expect it! Triage area, National Referral Hospital, Honiara Solomon Islands When people ask me what the work was like I describe it as “interesting”, this covers all the bases and is enough for those making polite enquiries, anyone who is genuinely interested asks for more. Our work place was the National Referral Hospital (NRH) and our brief was to facilitate the treatment of patients through the Emergency Department as the department was overwhelmed with diseases related to poor sanitation and water quality. The flood caused 30 evacuation centres to be created which were meant to assist 10,000 displaced people. We worked with the local staff and treated the general population, some cases were directly related to the flood circumstances such as dehydration from “throw out and belle run” (pidgin for diarrhoea and vomiting) and some cases were typical ED scenarios, seizures, asthma, sepsis etc. Nothing else was typical, the ambulances were often Utes bringing not only patients but others that just needed a lift into town. 10 The arrival of any vehicle at the “ambulance” bay was a major source of entertainment for everyone. The triage desk saw a vast number of patients varying from 64 to 175 in a 24hour period. Not all patients made it into the triage numbers either as often they arrived in Resus via the ambulance bay so the actual numbers would be greater than reported. The “diarrhoea” desk saw anything from 40 - 119 in a 24hour period, all of these were categorized into minor, moderate or severe dehydration and treated accordingly. NZMAT did not take part in the diarrhoea clinic other than the basic triage requirements. This clinic and its treatments were run solely by the local hospital staff and a long term Australian doctor. Getting the limited available resources in a timely manner was a logistical challenge at times so ‘inventiveness’ in managing with the resources available was required at times. Initially I found the work difficult, it took me 4 days to let go of “best practice” and feel comfortable working within the limitations we had without compromising how I felt as a professional. I certainly appreciate even more what we have at our fingertips in our everyday practice here in NZ and I have a better idea of what equipment I would personally take next time. Never underestimate the logistic team members, they have their finger on the pulse as far as where to buy, borrow, mend, alter and create things, our two logistic team members were Brett and ‘Macca’ (from the NZ Fire Service USAR team), a scarier pair you couldn’t hope for but they could turn their hands to most things. They supplied us with trolleys, drip stands and Charles Blanch (Director, Emergency Management MoH) with NZMAT Team Bravo prior to the team’s departure for the Solomon Islands at USAR Base in Pitt Street Auckland lots of other useful things, they had a great knack of finding broken equipment tucked away in a hospital workshop somewhere and fixing it for our use. We all had one day off during the deployment (not all the same day!) and most of us visited the Guadalcanal World War 2 memorials at some stage. For one the memorials were atop a hill so gave a great 360 view but also to read a bit more about it and actually see the area. Guadalcanal is the name of one of the surrounding provinces of Honiara. Returning to normality was pretty much as I expected, a couple of days feeling tired, a bit flat, I missed my team buddies more than I expected to in those first 2 or 3 days but BRAVO team had quite a flurry of emails for about 10 days which was good contact and now a month later there is the occasional email within the team. I believe we have all had a psych debriefing over the phone and there is opportunity to make further contact if we feel the need. In my opinion the support and follow up has been far more than required but in deployments where we may have been exposed to trauma and highly charged emotional situations it may be necessary to have this comprehensive follow up. I know that NZMAT are following a set process to ensure nothing gets missed and working on improving things in response to feedback received, in the long run I guess it is safer to over cater rather than under in regards to mental health. The experience led me to see and do some things that I would never have done otherwise and I believe every deployment will have different opportunities. I am grateful to the fabulous members of the BRAVO team and our Camp Leader, Murray Halbert for making it such an enriching experience but also for the encouragement during the not-so-great times and the deep belly laughs we all had together. Thanks to the USAR team and those in the CMDHB and MOH who kept us safe. Members of Team Bravo (Dr Ruth Lennox, Dr Sarah Coombs, RN Kevin Henshall and Mike ‘Macca’ McEnaney (USAR logistician) Alternative transport across the river in Honiara after recent flooding washed away the bridge Register as a Volunteer for NZMAT via the following website: https://volunteerhealth.org.nz 11 Counties Manukau Health’s Role in a NZMAT Deployment Counties Manukau Health (CM Health) is responsible for the logistic component of a NZMAT deployment. CM Health will liaise closely with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the NZ Fire Service’s Auckland USAR team to provide the following: Act as a coordination centre for NZMAT volunteers Act as a coordination centre for acquiring and deploying support resources Manage operational information relating to logistical requirements Develop planning around the movement of personnel, equipment and supplies Effectively and efficiently control logistical support for a NZMAT deployment Effectively and efficiently utilise all available resources in NZ and at the deployment site Coordinate logistical requirements for a NZMAT deployment Provide welfare support of the NZMAT volunteers deployed and their families Provide for a safe working environment for the NZMAT volunteers deployed Toppled building in Taiwan following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in September 1999 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 Vicky Tafau NZMAT Coordinator Vicky.Tafau@cmdhb.org.nz Martin Buet Regional Emergency Management Advisor (Midlands) – MoH Martin_Buet@moh.govt.nz 12 Are you ready for Deployment? NZMAT Volunteer Responsibilities How ready are you to be deployed? There is a lot of organisation by numerous Government agencies that goes into preparing a team of health professionals for an international deployment – whether a dedicated NZMAT or as part of an AusMAT deployment. NZMAT volunteers play an important part in ensuring the deployment process goes smoothly and no ‘surprises’ occur as volunteers go through Customs at the International Airport. How do they do this? By ensuring they are ready for deployment by: Having a current passport valid for at least six months beyond the expected completion date of the deployment - anything less will prevent a volunteer from being deployed Ensuring any visa requirements to return to New Zealand post deployment are up-to-date All required vaccinations are up-to-date and proof of vaccination can be provided - Required vaccinations for a SW Pacific deployment are: childhood vaccinations (polio, MMR, TB etc.), tetanus, seasonal influenza, hepatitis A & B and typhoid - Proof via a vaccination ‘passport’, copies of vaccination documentation or a signed NZMAT Vaccination Declaration form. No criminal record which will prevent access into other countries Customs will not prevent departure from New Zealand due to unpaid traffic fines Have a copy of their professional registration documents If you are unsure about any of the deployment requirements for NZMAT volunteers please contact the NZMAT Programme Manager Judy Fairgray at Judy.Fairgray@middlemore.co.nz NZMAT will deploy only at the request of the local medical authority in the disaster area 13 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 Register as a Volunteer for NZMAT via https://volunteerhealth.org.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 14