In early March 2014, Motivation Australia personnel Ray Mines and Lee Brentnall visited Samoa to continue working towards the establishment of the Mobility Device Services (MDS). You can download the project summary from the Recent Publications section of the Resources page.
Samoa is a small Pacific Island state comprising two main islands, Upolu and Savaii, plus several smaller islands. The capital city is Apia, located on the Northern coast of Upolu.
During the visit the team met with project partners, the Samoan National Health Service (NHS) and NOLA (Nuanua O Le Alofa) and the Australian government (DFAT) who are funding the project, to update them on progress.
Ray delivered presentations to medical and managerial personnel at the NHS describing the services that will be available through the MDS by the end of the four year project. This also provided an opportunity to develop important linkages between the MDS, Motivation Australia and the other departments of the NHS.
The team also travelled to the nearby island of Savai’i to meet clients in the community who had lower limb amputations. This was done in collaboration with Faa’tino Masunu Utumapu, Office Manager for NOLA (Samoan Disabled Person’s Organisation) and a Nurse from ICHNS (Integrated Community Health Nursing Services) on Savai’i.
This visit to Savai’i provided valuable insight into the needs of people with an amputation in the community that will assist Motivation Australia and the NHS to determine the most appropriate prosthetic design options for the MDS. It also identified key areas of training required at community level related to mobility devices. This information will be used to develop the training provided by Motivation Australia as part of this four year project.
Motivation Australia and the NHS are currently recruiting a Principal to manage and lead the MDS clinically.