A declaration drafted at an international conference in Phitsanulok, Thailand, organised by the University of New England and Thailand’s Naresuan University, emphasises the importance of high-quality education and training for health service managers.
The “Phitsanulok Declaration” says that the conference – the 1st International Conference on Health Service Delivery Management – was “the first opportunity in the South-East Asia and Asia Pacific regions to emphasise the importance of leadership and health management as essential precursors to health systems working to achieve high-quality health care for all”.
“The 450 delegates from 17 countries and 14 health and education organisations recognise the importance of a revitalised primary health care system – particularly in rural areas and at the local district level,” it continues. “This requires well trained professional health managers to be effective.”
The declaration is being circulated to all the conference delegates with a request that they translate it into their own languages and distribute it as widely as possible. “The delegates to this conference seek implementation of this declaration and pledge to continue to work together and expand the collaboration on which this declaration was founded,” it says.
Dr David Briggs, a Senior Lecturer in UNE’s School of Health who was one of the conveners of the Phitsanulok conference, held in October, explained that the declaration had been drafted through a process of extensive discussion during and after the conference. It is available in its final form at: http://www.health.nu.ac.th/hdm2009/declaration.php
“The University of New England is committed to raising issues of relevance to rural communities at a global level,” said UNE’s Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Graham Webb. “This landmark declaration signals the importance of training health managers to meet the challenges of providing effective leadership, and for planning integrated services for populations who require health care in rural communities, where health needs are often underserviced.”
Dr Briggs is one of several UNE staff members who are acting as advisers to Naresuan University’s Centre of Expertise on Leadership in Health Management. “The South-East Asia Regional Office of the World Health Organisation (WHO) was one of the major partners in the Phitsanulok conference,” he said, “and a significant outcome of the conference is that the Naresuan University Centre is now undergoing designation as a WHO Collaborating Centre of Expertise.”
Professor Victor Minichiello, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of UNE’s Faculty of The Professions, is another of UNE’s advisers to the Naresuan University Centre, and was an invited speaker at the symposium that discussed the declaration. “The declaration is a significant step towards meeting the growing expectations of the public with regard to receiving high-quality and effective health care,” Professor Minichiello said.
“A widely-reported issue in the media is the crisis in the health care system at a global level, and the challenges that the system faces,” he continued. ”Central to this debate is the capacity of health service managers to deal with the economic context of delivering health care, and to introduce reforms in the delivery of primary health care that are innovative and forward thinking. The declaration recognises the importance of training – and of ensuring appropriate levels of qualifications – for those who work in health service management.”
Professor Brian Dollery of the School of Business, Economics and Public Policy, and Director of the UNE Centre for Local Government, has passed the 300 mark in the number of papers he has published in refereed scholarly journals.
The University of New England stands to benefit from the development of strategic relationships in the interna-tional arena, following the unqualified success of its International Health Conference held in Thailand this week. The International Conference on Health Service Delivery Management is a joint effort between UNE and Thailand’s Naresuan University, and has attracted more than 450 delegates from across three continents. The Vice-Chancellor and CEO of UNE, Professor Alan Pettigrew, in Thailand, said the conference had pulled together knowledge from the fields of health, medicine and education to address global issues in health service delivery. He said the conference had attracted considerable international interest from health practitioners, health providers, and educators from 16 countries including Australia, Sudan, Nepal, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Laos and Bhutan. “All of the international experts present are committed to improving health care and to learning from each other through research and education strategies,” Professor Pettigrew said. Professor Victor Minichiello, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of UNE’s Faculty of The Professions, said that the strategic relationships developed between UNE and institutions such as Naresuan University and the World Health Organisation would provide benefits to the global community.
Women’s representation in leadership positions in agricultural industries and regional communities more generally was the focus of a report co-authored by Professor Alison Sheridan and her colleague from Curtin University of Technology, Professor Fiona Haslam McKenzie. The report identifies where women are located across occupations and industries in the Australian paid workforce and examines the reasons for women’s low representation in formal leadership positions in agriculture and regional organisations. It concludes with recommendations for improving the proportion of women in formal leadership roles and enhancing women’s leadership experiences. The report, ‘Revisiting Missed Opportunities – growing women’s contribution to agriculture’, was released by the Rural Industries Woman of the Year, 2009, Roma Britnell, in Canberra on 15 September, with the importance of the findings stressed by the Minister for Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon Tony Burke, MP in his press release about the report.