Welcome to the Summer 2015 PRIME newsletter!

Welcome to the summer edition of our newsletter. We hope you find it interesting as well as informative. It can only give a small taster of the very varied activities of PRIME but there is always more

information on our website or if you have an interest in a specific area you are welcome to contact the office.

The Annual Conference that took place in Lichfield in March was more international than ever with people from 17 countries taking part and was a great occasion, thanks in great part the tireless work of the PRIME CEO and office staff. Many of the overseas visitors contributed extremely well-received reports on their work and the role that PRIME had played where they came from. Some of their comments are to be found this newsletter. We believe that it is important to bring people together in such a way and are very grateful to our tutors and Network friends for their generous support for our bursary fund. When our national partners feel they are truly a part of global PRIME they are empowered to spread the whole person care concept and message not only within their own countries but also to those around.

Exciting examples of this are shown by the leader of PRIME’s work in Kenya leading a PRIME workshop in neighbouring Rwanda this July. Last year a message delivered in Uganda by one of his colleagues was enthusiastic received by WHO consultant charged with amassing principles of teaching humanity in healthcare who said, “At last I have found an organisation that actually does this”.

John Geater PRIME International Director

Who are we?

Over a billion people worldwide lack access to even the most basic healthcare, often because there are no healthcare workers: train a healthcare worker and you can help save lives.Train a healthcare educator and you can help save thousands of lives.PRIME is a charity committed to training, envisioning and empowering doctors and other healthcare workers to excellence in practice coupled with compassionate whole person patient-centred care.

Last year…In 2014 PRIME tutors delivered 70 separate programmes in 27 different countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania, North and South America involving over 79 tutors overseas providing 200 days of teaching and training to 3000+ individuals - this in addition to the ongoing work of our national partners proclaiming the whole person message in their daily work.

This year…PRIME already has 57 programmes planned, in discussion or being developed in India, Uganda, Portugal, Ukraine, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Middle East, UK, Sierra Leone, Romania, Poland, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Nepal, Far East, Peru, Turkey, Nigeria, Swaziland, Kenya, Russia, Ghana, Armenia, Albania…

In this issue:

www. p r i m e -­‐ i n t e r n a t i o n a l . o r g

N e w s l e t t e r

Summer 2015

• International Director’s news • Pouring in Poznan • ‘life transforming knowledge’ • ‘If you go up the stairs today’ • ‘… it is cool to be old and married…’ • ‘I had a lot of wonderful experiences’ • Some more rather lovely comments •

• Nepal - and the extraordinary efforts of one man • Earthquakes and dreaming • Developing Mental Health e-journal • PRIME Australia news • Small drops in a vast ocean • Course after course prepared with love • … and soooooo much more! •

It’s been exciting to see a third-generation PRIME formation, with the training for a tutor team in Singapore being carried out by PRIME Australia (second

generation). Meanwhile another training programme is being operated in Nigeria by a joint team of UK and Nigerian PRIME tutors aimed at increasing the number of tutors in-country to reach throughout the whole of the western region and neighbouring countries.

Quite obviously in this summary it is impossible to summarise all the work being done by so many tutors in so many parts of the world including new areas but there is cause for rejoicing that seeds sown many years ago are starting to germinate. We must of course continue to record with great gratitude the number of overseas visits carried out by UK-based tutors, but we also need to

recognise the enormous work being done daily by our national partners round the world, who are an intrinsic part of PRIME. Indeed, without their carrying forward the vision where they are there would be no sustainability for our work. Some work in extremely difficult and sometimes dangerous situations with great courage. It is a privilege to support them in prayer and through electronic communication so they know they are not alone.

Thank you for reading this newsletter, and thank you to all who have contributed to the financial support of PRIME. Thank you to those of you who have prayed for the work here and work of partners overseas: may you all feel a part of this work of God as we move forward to bring about more compassionate whole person care in many countries.

John Geater PRIME International Director

and that’s not all…

M y h o s t h a d suggested that the quickest way to get from my h o t e l t o t h e c o n f e r e n c e centre in Poznań was to walk. The

air was warm, the route interesting, and the talk material comfortably secure in my suit pocket. Speaking to an international conference of physiotherapists on ‘Physiotherapy for the Hear t’ would give an excellent opportunity to combine teaching in a l ively academic environment on both cardiology and whole person care.

My musings on the talk were interrupted by a tiny spot of rain on my nose; and the sky above the tall buildings was darkening rapidly. I walked rather more quickly, and close to their walls, but with

increasing rainfall their shelter soon proved inadequate. No cover was provided by the pedestrian lights that stayed unresponsive to my urgent and repeated summons to display a green man. Eventually, by hurriedly dodging a multitude of mu l t i - co l ou red , mu l t i - he i g h t umbrellas, I reached the semi-permeable shelter of a line of trees opposite the university entrance to which I was heading. There I paused, just 300 yards of open space short of the conference centre. As the rainfall became a cloudburst, To wait or to dash? pre-occupied my thinking… Drenched and delayed, I dashed.

PRIME events are rarely without challenges – but never without mercies also pouring down on those involved. The gift of a lady unexpectedly opening a side-door in the university building allowed the more discrete arrival of a soggy

speaker and afforded help with mopping up. Hot air driers restored a semblance of normality before I met the Dean and other dignitaries; and the lecture was c lear ly appreciated. New contacts were made that may well strengthen PRIME’s base locally as well as encourage our existing partners there.

The event was attended, too, by several other 'pourings out' on our team and on the people we met over the few days of our visit: of a new understanding that God offers to be close to us at all times and in all circumstances; of opportunities to share and suppor t each other especially in challenging times; and of seeing the faces of a number of our participants light up with a new recognition of the healing benefit of embracing whole persons in all that we do.

Richard Vincent PRIME  CEO      

Pouring in Poznań

Comments  from  the  recent  CMDA/PRIME  conference  in  Uyo,  Nigeria,  organised  and  run  by  PRIME  in-­‐country  partners  and  PRIME  tutors  Drs  Kayode  Iyun,  Femi  Olowookere,  and  Chima  Onoka  

‘life-transforming knowledge’

Very interesting

programme!

Highly educative and life changing

experience

Eye opening information

The presenters

were absolutely wonderful and

impactful

I sincerely appreciate God for

using PRIME to bring this life transforming

knowledge to me at this stage of my medical

practice

Presentation techniques were

clear and unambiguous PRIME should

continue the good work, this is what the

world needs

Learnt how to be a

good doctor and impactful teacher

Thank you for the opportunity

I’ve had a wonderful experience

I’m happy I came

“The University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) hosts monthly seminars where departments take turns to present on topical issues. The seminars usually hold on the second Wednesday of every month from 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm and it is a CME points awarding program.The Cross River State chapter of CMDA Nigeria, having considered the state of decay in the health care system where compassion is lost and patients are treated as cases, made a proposal to the management of UCTH to take a turn in the hospital seminar schedule. The intent was to present the Whole Person Medicine under the auspices of Partnerships in International Medical Education (PRIME) with the hope of a reawakening of compassion and the need to care for the whole man among UCTH staff.”

Topics covered:

Compassion in healthcare - is it important?

How can we teach whole person medicine?

Spiritual care

Femi addresses the group

It was one of the most attended hospital

seminars ever, attracting participants

even from outside Calabar Metropolis.

Professor Tony Udosen could not hide his joy for the program. He decried the state of corruption

among hospital staff and declared, “Today is the day I have long waited for to address the hospital staff on

the need to do the right”.

After an exhortation, Prof. Udosen, appealed to the audience to have a change

of heart, for that is the basis on which whole

person medicine can be practiced.

Dr E.N. Nsan, the former Minister of health was very excited as he told

PRIME to come again and again and again.

And this is some of the feedback…

‘One of the most attended hospital seminars ever’

Dr Femi Olowookere, in-country partner and PRIME tutor, also delivered a seminar at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

Dr Edet Attih, a former Commissioner for health in Akwa Ibom State said he had to cancel a previous appointment slated for the same time as the Whole Person Medicine seminar and confessed that he has benefitted immensely. He further stated that

many more patients are seen at the primary and secondary level healthcare facilities and thus made a Macedonian call for the message of whole person medicine to be transmitted down to

them as well.

Professor Emmanuel Ekanem noted that he had

never in the history of UCTH seminars

witnessed the kind of rapt attention with which the audience listened to Dr

Olowookere as he delivered the PRIME slides.

‘If you go up the stairs today…’

If you go up the stairs today you may meet a shadowy creature hunched in the stairwell muttering, ‘Come on, come on!’

Don’t be alarmed - it’s only me stealing some-one’s wi-fi connection (actually I have their permission to use it). Where we are staying, in St Stephens Hospital Delhi, we have a single point of access to the internet by cable which fits into the laptop. There is no hospital wi-fi in our room. This causes a problem as we both need computer access to prepare for the next day’s course material. And more importantly I need the iPad to download The Times - especially the Sudokus… The internet is very slow and once contact is established it can take ages to download the paper.

The wi-fi belongs to Drs Sajatha and Bimal Charles. She’s a gynaecologist and he works for the Christian Medical Association of India. We met them last year when we first came to Delhi and they offered us the use of their wi-fi then. They have Sajatha’s mother living with them - Grannyji I call her. She’s very switched on and can remember all the internet passwords. She also takes lots of photos with her tablet. She would happily let me into their flat to sit comfortably whilst I download but I don’t like

being a bother. She has caught me on the stairs a couple of times and insisted I come in.

I also often go onto the roof which is just above their flat and take in the view whilst I wait for the download to finish. I look out over a bit of the city and can see various tower blocks and temples/mosques in the locality. I can normally tell how bad the pollution is by how much or little view there is. The other day I actually saw a building with golden minarets on that I hadn’t seen before.

It’s nice being up there - there’s normally a breeze, albeit with hot air. The noises of the street reach up with the loud hoots, just like a cruise ship about to leave port, of the heavily laden buses, their height increased half as much again by all the bales and boxes that are strapped to them. That’s normally followed by black clouds rising between the buildings from their engines. In the distance there are flocks of pigeons flying round like mini versions of the starling murmurations we have in England. The sky is full of little tissue paper kites that are jerking and darting, being flown by kids on the roof tops. It’s so warm (40C+ and 30C+ in the evening) that they only need a little breeze to get airborne. Higher still are the avian kites circling round and round on the thermals. Even they are suffering having their beaks open as they perch in the trees.

On Saturday evening we went out with our friends at a restaurant called “Barbeque Nation”.The restaurant had little charcoal braziers set in the table and lots of skewers of meet, prawns, mushrooms etc were placed there upon.

Tony and Helen Cockeram on their very own Passage to India…

“It’s nice being up there - there’s normally a breeze, albeit with hot air. The noises of the street reach up with the loud hoots, just like a cruise ship about to leave port, of the heavily laden buses, their height increased half as much again by all the bales and boxes that are strapped to them…”

The waiters also kept bringing round little potato cakes and barbequed sweet corn, chicken legs and other spicy bits. The idea was that you lowered the little flag on the table when you had had enough… of the starters!! You then went to a heavily laden table with about 10 main courses with rice, chapattis, noodles etc. We were full before we even got up there but managed to eat a spoonful or two. Puddings came next!! Typical sweet Indian sweets, as well as cake and fruit. And then they had 6 different varieties of Kulfi (Indian ice-cream) to try. Helen and I managed to share a fig one between us. It was delicious. It was nice to eat meat as we had been virtually vegetarian since we got here. Mind you the taste and variety of the vegetarian food here seems much better than back home. The place was packed with people having parties. That was made obvious after the 3 or 4th little cake with a candle being brought out and the staff singing congratulations and clapping. Think of TGIs, but Indian style. We had six or seven of those. That wasn’t the only entertainment as half-way through the evening the staff, waiters and cooks, came to the front and did synchronised Bangra dancing amongst other styles. Some of the guests came up and joined them.

We are now mid way through the course but it has been hard going today. A combination of the heat, necessary changes to the schedule and having too much to do in too little time. The doctors are knuckling down to try and get

as much done as they can and we are trying to stay one step ahead.

Unlike the UK, the doctors don’t get any study leave and have to take courses from their four week holiday allowance. The majority of the group have their own private clinics and do surgeries before and after the course. They also take calls from their patients during the course which is quite annoying but at least now they have the courtesy to leave the room when they are doing so. I expect the second half to speed by. In fact some of them will miss the last day as they need to be on duty at their hospitals. We are bringing the exam forward to make allowance for them.

We have had our registration application rejected twice by the FRRO and at 1 point we were all set to go up to Dehra Dun (260 miles away) to try and extend our previous registration. Other channels are being tried and hopefully will be sorted this week. They had better be as we are due home in one week’s time. Lots of people are trying to help and praying for our situation to be resolved. We leave it in God’s hands.

It’s now 11 pm and 38C so I’ll finish now and try to get some sleep, which is a bit tricky…

(Tony and Helen made it home safely.)

“It is cool to be old and married”

Would you like some encouragement to take a risk and build for PRIME and God’s Kingdom on any pre-existing love for those battling in healthcare situations, either abroad or in UK? Well, let me tell you the story of how it worked for me…

I have had a heart for the people of Zimbabwe since we twinned our general practice with an impoverished hospital where my sister was working during severe droughts in the early 1990s. Four years ago, with relative political stability returning to the country, and my more settled family commitments at home, my husband and I started investigating how we could be helpful there. A connection with an orphan project in the beautiful Matopos National Park, south of Bulawayo led to us teaching Emotional Logic (EL), initially to orphan bereavement counsellors but then to a much wider audience. Emotional Logic is a lifelong learning, emotional literacy tool where the emotions of loss or disappointments are turned to their useful purposes thus releasing energy to move forward.

On one of those visits I addressed the local GP lunchtime meeting about EL, and realised that ‘listening to the patient’ was not really part of the agenda here. Economic pressures meant that numbers of patients seen and drugs prescribed, were of the utmost import. Coinciding with ‘discovering’ PRIME and the way it’s ethos and teaching methods so closely matched our own, there was a pressure to ‘do something’ and so, when we discovered that an acquaintance was attempting to start a medical school in Bulawayo it seemed essential to offer PRIME teaching.

Now, three years on, we have just returned from a PRIME ‘taster’ session with the first batch of 24 third year medical students at the National University of Science and Technology. We were allocated 2 two hour slots 8 to 10am in the week before their exams… Would they come, we wondered?

Arriving at the City Campus, we were directed to the fourth floor but were informed that the lift was ‘challenged’ - take the stairs. Following a student on the second day, we found that the second lift did work, but with no door in place! We had carefully planned group work, role plays etc. and hoped to move chairs to facilitate this, but the room was too small for any furniture adjustment. The students, however, managed to make groups despite the squash.

“The teaching was an absolute delight with the students being engaged, enthusiastic and quick to learn.“

“Your mission, should you accept the challenge…”

Marian Griffiths tells the story of how it worked for her…

The teaching was an absolute delight with the students being engaged, enthusiastic and quick to learn. The interactive teaching style was new to them, but they rapidly understood what was required and became creatively humorous in their role plays. I had done some research about loss of compassion in medical students and was able to inform them that it was at their stage of training that it was usually lost. They took this very seriously and became self-reflective as shown later in the group work feedback and in their individual post-course evaluations. We pray that the values that they reflected on will stay with them.

Unfortunately, faculty members were not present in the teaching, but we forwarded the feedback to them and they

were amazed that so much could be taught in such a short time. We were invited to the faculty review meeting to give a short presentation and it seems very likely that this is the start of an ongoing partnership...

Post-it feed-back at the end of the first day had given us a morale boost as well as a prolonged fit of the giggles. One student’s reply to ‘One thing I learned today’ read ‘ I have learned that it is cool to be old and married, and still together, coz you get to travel the world and teach and inspire’. So, all you ‘old people’, it’s never too late to be ‘cool’!

“It is (still) cool to be old and married”

This was the first time I was at a PRIME conference and I had a lot of wonderful experiences at this time.

I am an oncology surgeon, and I work at a private hospital in Batumi, Georgia. I am also a member of the Christian Medical Association of Georgia, and it was there that I got information about PRIME and the conference.

I was happy to know that there are such doctors who are willing to share their experience and to teach their colleagues from other countries.

So, I was very keen to get to the conference, but financially it was impossible to cover all the expenses and therefore, to be given a bursary was a very big support for me.

At the conference I was pleased to hear my colleagues experiences of sharing knowledge and teaching in other countries. Also I enjoyed meeting so many people and colleagues from other countries.

As I am an oncologist, the most interesting part for me was the palliative care workshop, led by Dr David Butler. It was fascinating to meet people who had witnessed and been involved in the beginnings of palliative care in England and to hear

their stories. We held some discussions about the feasibility of setting up a Specialist Palliative Care Unit in my country. We have neither hospices, nor palliative care of a high standard, so there is a huge unmet need for this in Georgia.

Whilst I was at the conference, I took a decision to set up a Palliative Care Unit, and on my return, I started to organise this project. It was very helpful to have the promise of help from colleagues at the conference and from PRIME representatives.

So, as a result of our talks at the conference, we are registering a new charitable foundation and organisation called ‘Batumi Hospice’. This is due for official registration on 1st of May, 2015. Once this is complete, we will begin with a small group of nurses and doctors who will deliver care to patients in their own homes, as befits a high-quality specialist Palliative Care Unit.

I also want to say many thanks to Ros Simpson and David Butler for all their help and, in particular, for organising my visit to the hospice in Southampton. This was a very useful experience for me. And I think all the time spent with the PRIME team in England was extremely helpful for my country. Thank you!”

“I had a lot of wonderful experiences”

Temo Gogitidze from Georgia offers his thoughts on his first PRIME Annual Conference

“I look into the future with great optimism: that it is possible to change the way healthcare is taught and delivered”

Chima (Nigeria)

“My teaching skills have been enhanced tremendously”

Oluyomi (Nigeria)

“The conference gave me the opportunity to get acquainted with Christian participants from

different countries” Armen (Armenia)

“I came away from the conference with a new realisation and understanding of the need to integrate our beliefs about salvation and our

work” Mike (Kenya)

“We really felt that the staff and leadership were committed with its vision and mission”

Jorge (Uruguay)

“The emphasis on leadership and values and skills as exemplified by Christ and patterned by

the PRIME champions was very influential” Kizito (Kenya)

“Looking forward to continued communication, cooperation and collaboration”

Dhana (Nepal)

… and some more rather lovely comments from some more lovely people

PRIME’s Annual Conference has become a wonderful place for meeting and encouragement. This year we welcomed 94 participants, with14 coming from abroad.. All levels of interest in PRIME were present, from those ‘just looking’ to those already involved in PRIME’s

teaching in many different settings. We shared, learnt, listened, worked hard, laughed, interacted, had fun, networked, played and all grew from the event.

The next PRIME Annual Conference

16th - 18th March 2016King’s Park Conference Centre

Northampton UK

Interested? Either keep an eye out on the website (www.prime-international.org) under Events for further information as it becomes available, or register your interest now by emailing admin@prime-international.org

Context:Whilst completing the articles for latest edition of the e-journal Developing Mental Health with its focus on psychological first aid, editor Andrew Wilson tuned in to the news to hear of the earthquake disaster in Nepal.

In March this year he met Dr Dhana Ratna Shakya, a Nepalese psychiatrist, at the PRIME annual conference and quickly gained both affection and enormous respect for him and his work in Nepal. Hearing of the earthquakes his thoughts turned quickly to him and was relieved to hear that Dhana and his immediate family were well, although Dhana too lost extended family and his home was destroyed. Days after the quake Dr Dhana had an article published in the Kantipur National Daily titled “Let’s not forget mental health in this mega-earthquake time”.1 PRIME’s contact since then has shown him to be someone of great vision and how that might be achieved - envisioning a better future for his country and championing the cause of those with mental health concerns, despite the brokenness around him.

We need such champions and dreamers, so included is Dr Dhana’s report from Nepal - a country which needs him and many more like him every bit as much as international aid to rebuild and heal.

Another mental health group working in Nepal to tackle the immense amount of post-traumatic distress is KOSHISH, a local community mental health team with whom PRIME mental health tutors have been working closely with over the past few years giving training to their social workers and, with them, teaching church leaders.

PRIME tutor Claire Grimble is also working in Nepal with Christian ministry INF as their rehabilitation adviser travelling to remote villages to help those injured by the earthquake. INF reckon that of the many thousands injured by the earthquake at least 6000 will be in need of long term help with rehabilitation. INF’s Green Pastures Hospital in Pokhara is one of the main centres for rehab in the country.

1.   Kan'pur  Na'onal  Daily  (2/5/2015  Saturday)  epaper.ekan'pur.com/kan'pur        

Dhana (centre) greets John Geater, PRIME International Director, and Jo Clark, PRIME Operations Manager, at the recent PRIME Annual Conference

Nepal - and the extraordinary efforts of one man

Clare Grimble with an assistant caring for a disabled child in

Nepal

We Nepalese are reeling under one or other stressors, natural such as recent mega-quake, frequent floods, land-slides and man-made, such as unemployment, armed conflict, bandhas etc.1 The recent series of earthquakes, of 7.9 and 7.3 magnitude in 2015, have taken the lives of nearly 9000 people (at time of writing and many more might be missing from available data), and have affected almost half of the country area wide, many injured and crippled. Uncertainty and the consequences of the mega-shake have led to disturbed mental and psychological state of many Nepalese. In such current Nepalese context, mental health problems are anticipated to be higher than usual (community data is yet to be generated for this country), though sadly mental health is a low priority. Though there a is gradually increasing number of teaching hospitals in different parts of the country, mental health service is less available than required. Mental health is low on the agenda in health policy, priority and resource allocation so far in Nepal.

In such a context, Nepalese mental health will have to learn a lot from others and to make continuous attempt in service extension, academic progress and research coverage.

A Nepalese psychiatrist like me working in an academic institute3,4 of a developing nation aspires to collaborate with professional colleagues and organisations internationally such as PRIME2. In the current state of stress and crisis, Nepalese mental health professionals require generous support and assistance from their colleagues and associated organisations, like PRIME for appropriate disaster response, management and thereafter rehabilitation, not only in visible physical but also in psychological dimensions.

Now, I am dreaming for recuperating and rehabilitating Nepalese society, both visible physically outside and psychologically inside through appropriate disaster response (provision of shelter, safety, basic needs), management (problem solving, coping, health care, needful assistance, early diagnosis and treatment) and rehabilitation (earth-quake resistant residence and safety conscious structures, capacity based employment and fair facilitation of people in development activities etc.).I hope and pray my dream come true!            

1.  Shakya  DR.  Psychiatric  emergencies  in  Nepal.  Developing  Mental  Health,  Interna'onal  Journal  for  Mental  Health  Care.  UK.  2008;  6(8):  5-­‐7.  

2.  PRIME  Partnerships  in  Interna'onal  Medical  Educa'on  Network.  www.prime-­‐internaHonal.org    3.  Shakya  DR.  Department  of  Psychiatry,  BPKIHS  And  It’s  Contribu'on  To  Mental  Health  Literature  of  Nepal.  J  Psychiatrists’  Associa'on  of  Nepal.  2014;3(1).    

4.  BP  Koirala  Ins'tute  of  Health  Sciences  (BPKIHS).  bpkihs.edu/introducHon        

Earthquakes and dreaming

Dr Dhana Ratna Shakya on the

situation in Nepal, still coming to terms with the earthquakes

If you would like to support Dhana’s

work financially it would be hugely appreciated.

Please send a cheque to:

℅ LOAF Project: 151 Old Roar Rd,

St Leonards on Sea TN37 7HH

Developing Mental Health e-journal

Developing  Mental  Health  e-­‐journal  Following  on  from  a  PRIME  Mental  Health  Day  in  the  spring  of  2014,  PRIME  agreed  to  host  and  re-­‐launch  the  Developing  Mental  Health  journal  (DMH).  When  DMH  ceased  publica'on  about  five  years  ago  as  funding  dried  up,  it  had  a  wide  readership  in  over  100  countries.  In  re-­‐launching  the  journal  we  have  kept  a  number  of  the  former  journal’s  values  and  aims;  the  journal  which  is  principally  aimed  at  low  and  middle  income  contexts,  seeks  to  be  both  excellent  and  accessible,  and  to  be  useful  for  more  than  just  mental  health  trained  professionals.  We  offer  the  journal  in  a  spirit  of  Chris'an  service.  

   Five  years  is  a  long  'me  in  technology  and  electronic  communica'on  in  terms  of  social  media,  blogs,  smart  phones,  tablets,  and  web  access  etc  has  become  ubiquitous,  extending  to  many  lower  income  secngs.  This  democra'sa'on  of  informa'on  and  the  opportunity  to  electronically  support  development  of  networks  and  community  are  part  of  the  new  space  in  which  the  journal  is  re-­‐launched.  Secng  up  DMH    as  an  e-­‐journal  affords  more  benefit  than  simply  more  affordable  print  and  distribu'on  costs.  

   

The  first  edi'on  was  published  in  April  with  an  interview  with  Professor  Andrew  Simms  who  was  editor  of  the  former  journal:  looking  back  and  looking  forward.  The  second  journal  published  in  June  was  themed  around  Psychological  First  Aid  in  disaster  situa'ons  and  includes  an  ar'cle  from  Dr  Dhana  Ratna  Shakya,  a  fellow  PRIME  tutor,  from  the  reality  of  earthquake-­‐affected  Nepal.  Reflec'ng  on  this  from  the  comfort  of  a  stable  house  on  stable  land  is  both  humbling  and  inspiring.  Themes  for  future  edi'ons    include  Teaching  Mental  Health,  Restoring  Dignity,  and  Spiritual  Aspects  of  Mental  Health  Care.  

As  well  as  being  a  collec'on  of  knowledge  and  opinion,  it  is  hoped  in  'me  to  develop  as  a  space  for  the  journal’s  readers  to  develop  community  -­‐discussing,  sharing,  influencing,  resourcing  and  encouraging.      The  editorial  board  are  currently  all  PRIME  tutors  and  the  inten'on  is  to  publish  every  two  months  -­‐  ably  and  enthusias'cally  supported  by  the  PRIME  office  team!      Whilst  preparing  the  ar'cles  for  the  first  two  edi'ons  no'ons  such  as  "good  news  for  the  poor",  "a  voice  for  the  voiceless"  and  "bind  the  broken-­‐hearted”    never  seem  far  away,  and  our  hope  is  that  this  remains  so  as  the  journal  finds  its  place  and  voice  and  serves.  

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developingmentalhealth DevMentalHealth developing-mental-health developingmentalhealth dmh@prime-international.org

Interested in reading more?

The PRIME Network now has over 900 members in 71 countries all committed to practising and teaching whole person care. Network Members receive regular emails and information, relevant research and encouragement and we hope to ‘go live’ with our teaching resource library soon.

We now have trained teams of tutors in Australia, Kenya, Nigeria, Scandinavia and the UK... and individual tutors in over 26 other countries. Plans are developing for tutor training in China, India, Malaysia and several other countries.

Values Added materials have now been distributed to more than 95 individuals for teaching programmes in Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lithuania, Nigeria, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, the UK, Ukraine, and the USA.

Highlights

Gree$ngs  from  PRIME  Australia!  Things  have  been  going  well  here  since  John  Geater  spoke  at  the  ICMDA  conference  in  Sydney  2006  and  really  on  the  move  from  about  2010  when  an  agreement  was  made  with  PRIME  Interna'onal  and  HealthServe  Australia  to  facilitate  the  forma'on  of  PRIME  Australia  under  HSA’s  umbrella.  HSA  

is  the  prac'cal  outreach  organisa'on  set  up  by  CMDFA  to  enable  health  and  development  projects.  From  a  missions  perspec've  it  is  “sokly,  sokly”    as  Australian  government  rules  make  a  clear  dis'nc'on  between  development  work  and  religious  ac'vity.  Only  the  former  gets  tax  deduc'bility.  These  worldly  polari'es  need  to  be  understood,  but  do  not  rule  our  hearts  when  we  share  the  treasure  through  wholis'c  ac'vi'es  such  as  those  of  PRIME!  

We  have  been  busy  making  trips  to  help  in  GP  training  in  India  through  Chris'an  Medical  College  Vellore  since  2010.  There  are  contact  trainings  to  be  staffed  in  10  loca'ons  around  India  every  four  months.  A  team  of  foreign  tutors  is  assembled  to  work  alongside  Indian  counterparts.  A  number  of  UK  and  Australian  regulars  making  these  trips  are  seeing  fantas'c  development  in  the  Indian  faculty,  such  that  we  will  do  ourselves  out  of  a  job  within  a  few  years.    The  10  days  of  training  are  very  pressured  but  as  the  teaching  load  is  shared,  more  opportuni'es  to  relate  deeply  one-­‐to-­‐one  with  trainees  become  possible.  Over  the  last  year  Aussies  have  included  Nancy  Nicholas,  Elliot  Coates,  Jenny  Allen  and  Owen  Lewis.  Our  excellent  UK  friends  are  beginning  to  outnumber  us  in  the  teams!    A  maner  for  prayer  is  the  visa  process  that  is  never  a  sure  thing.  Owen  Lewis’s  June  trip  was  cancelled  for  lack  of  visa  at  the  last  minute.

Trips  to  Papua  New  Guinea  (PNG)  have  also  borne  fruit.  While  the  contribu'ons  to  the  conferences  of  the  Ter'ary  Chris'an  Students’  Associa'on  were  appreciated,  the  networking  opened  other  doors.  One  result  is  the  development  of  hospital  chaplaincy  that  was  a  strongly  felt  need.  One  of  our  tutors,  Les  White  is  into  the  third  year  of  repeated  invita'ons  to  conduct  chaplaincy  trainings.  PRIME  connec'ons  in  PNG  have  also  been  helpful  in  work  towards  the  third  edi'on  of  the  Health  Care  Manual  for  community  health  workers  that  is  long  awaited.   Strong  links  are  developing  with  colleagues  in  China.  There  is  huge  opportunity  to  assist  in  GP  training  in  the  years  to  come,  but  we  have  not  yet  reached  the  point  of  having  concrete  tasks  requested  by  our  Chinese  friends.   Just  a  week  ago,  PRIME  trainers  Carolyn  Russell,  Sharon  Darlington  and  Michael  Burke  were  involved  in  a  mee'ng  arranged  by  Dr  Boey  Mee  Leng  with  the  Healthcare  Chris'an  Fellowship  in  Singapore,  in  the  Na'onal  University  Hospital.  There  were  20  par'cipants  from  the  Philippines,  Malaysia,  Brunei,  as  well  as  Singapore.  They  were  medical,  nursing  and  non-­‐clinical  staff  at  various  stages  in  their  careers.  A  number  were  already  involved  in  teaching  trips  and  wanted  to  learn  about  the  PRIME  methodology.  There  was  interest  in  the  proposed  ac'vity  in  Indonesia  that  is  being  planned  later  in  the  year.  We  can  an'cipate  a  growing  interest  in  PRIME  in  South  East  Asia!  

Owen Lewis prime@healthserve.org.au

PRIME Australia - news from friends in the land down under!

Mine was perhaps a slightly unusual first trip with PRIME as I was returning to the city I lived in from 2007-2012, to work with the two organisations that I had previously been employed by. It was personally very enjoyable and touching to return to these environments and reconnect with old colleagues. In the initial palliative care workshops I felt a little uncomfortable about giving the impression of being a visiting expert in the context of past colleagues, but it was clear to all present that Dr David Butler was leading. That was until he went rather green around the gills thanks to a 24 hour bug and myself and Andy Charley, the team leader, had to do what GPs are trained to do – some quick thinking on our feet and a change of plan to allow David to take a back seat for the rest of day one!

The majority of the audience had had very limited experience of or exposure to palliative care - with the exception of some who worked with patients in the final terminal

phases. It was great to see many quickly buying into the concepts presented, keen to explore how they might be able to introduce more open conversation and treatment planning with their patients before those difficult last days of a patient’s life – all the more difficult when no one has spoken openly with them about the path ahead. It was challenging yet in a way strangely encouraging to see these colleagues grappling through simulated consultations how to best support a patient struggling to come to terms with his/her own mortality, fears around what lies beyond death, and concerns for their family’s well-being after they have gone. In a culture where health decisions are frequently made by the wider family (and often they are more informed of the diagnosis than the patient is), there was interesting discussion around patient autonomy and its relevance in such a different context, as well as core evidence-based palliative care principles and treatment approaches that David was able to cover on day two when his colour and energy were restored.

“Small (but really important) drops in a vast ocean”

Jenny Watson on her recent return to South East Asia

Jenny and some of the primary healthcare team

David at one of the primary healthcare clinics in a poor part

of town

Can you help us…Last year PRIME teams delivered 70 separate programmes in 27 different countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and North and

South America. 79 tutors provided 200 days of teaching and training to over three thousand individuals.

This represents a significant expansion of our work, increasing our need for office staff to support the growing number of PRIME

tutors and Network members.

With the development of the Values Added programme, expanding our teaching resources available through books and electronic

media and the development of a virtual resource library to support our tutors means we need to increase our office team and to

maintain this level of activity

…to keep going forward?    

  Make a donation now www.prime-international.org/donation     

In our time with the second organisation I had worked with we were able to see how their work had expanded over the last three years since my time there. Through charitable donations they provide heavily subsidised primary care services in clinics located in some of the poorest communities in the city, as well as providing practical and financial support to enable the poor to receive treatment or surgical interventions that were well beyond their means otherwise. Future partnerships with them are at an exploratory stage, as they look at how they could perhaps train nurses along nurse practitioner lines to work alongside their clinic doctors, especially in more remote locations in future. There remains a huge need for good quality, wholistic primary care in South East Asia, and it was a joy to see a number of my old colleagues and trainees really committed to see that happen. They are simply

small drops in a vast ocean of need at present, and we hope that as new avenues open up for well-trained family physicians in that land there may be further opportunities to support them as they seek to model and train others in an approach to medical care that embraces the social, emotional and spiritual needs that patients come to us with.

This part of the trip was especially close to my heart as the charity had supported and funded leukaemia treatment for our househelper who was diagnosed the very same day we were told to leave South East Asia at short notice. Though Sakina died a few months ago, the treatment she received gave her over two years of time with her family, including the chance to see her first granddaughter born, and it was precious to visit her family and share memories of her together – with the generous hospitality that I have come to know and love from people in this much maligned country.

Enjoying a biriyani with Jenny’s householder's family

PRIME Support Fund

The PRIME Support Fund, formed partly from PRIME general funds and partly from direct donations, is used to support healthcare professionals from low and middle income countries to run or attend PRIME courses and conferences. So far, the fund has been able to support 81 healthcare professionals from 24 countries.

Access to the fund is by application only. If you would like to make a donation to the Support Fund please visit our website to make an online donation (www.prime-international.org/donation) or contact the office for other ways to make a donation.

Please ensure all Support Fund donations are clearly marked.

Nothing could have prepared me for what happened when I went to the Middle East as the palliative care nurse on the PRIME team led by Janet (and including Tony) to give lectures in a University in April.

This was the land of Jesus. To be able to stay for a few days in these two places, was quite remarkable for me because in the background all the while was the reality that Jesus knew these places, breathed the air, walked the countryside and was even familiar with the distinctive building style.

Our teaching programme wasn't as full as usual for a PRIME schedule and as there had been some communication problems in trying to set it up, we had some time available. Scripture tells us that the Lord goes before us and this became so evident. He had bigger plans for us.

There is an urgent need for the introduction of palliative care education. It was mooted that PRIME might like to be in the forefront of facilitating such a programme. This is a considerable undertaking and before any solid plans were possible it was important that some senior doctors and nurses in the countries were consulted. As we went about our various sessions people who needed to be consulted just happened to be in those places. Each made vital suggestions including who else needed to be involved at this embryonic stage of programming. It was so smooth, it just about fell into place. It wouldn't have been possible to be available for these 'chance' meetings had our teaching programme been more full. Over the 12 days we were there no less than nine senior doctors and nurses consulted so that a draft plan could be created before we left. It was truly remarkable to witness. A secondary effect of this extended program will be the coming together of health professionals from different ethnic groups, individuals who usually wouldn't mix. A small move towards peace?

I couldn't end this short item without mentioning the wonderful hospitality that was extended to us in people's homes. Janet found the right words - “they were truly generous 'gastronomic extravaganzas' again and again. Absolutely stunning, wonderful variety, exotic flavours and course after course prepared and offered with love.”

“Course after course prepared and offered with love”

Larri Hayhurst, nurse and PRIME tutor, on her visit to the Middle East

‘Over the 12 days we were there no less than nine senior doctors and nurses consulted so that a draft plan could be created before we left. It was truly remarkable to witness.’

New(ish) to the team!

70 programmes 27 countries 79 tutors 200 days of trainingover 3,000 individual delegates

Where did we go? Albania, Armenia, Australia, Bosnia, China, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Kosova, Malaysia, Middle East,, Mozambique, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Asia, Sweden, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America

What did we do?

A glance back to PRIME in 2014 …

A huge welcome to Janet Crawford, our invaluable, amazing, indispensable, tireless new

Finance Officer!

57 programmes (so far)

Where have we been/are we going? (so far) Albania, Armenia, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Middle East, Nepal, Nigeria, Romania, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Rwanda, South Africa, South East Asia, Swaziland, Uganda, Ukraine, UK, Zimbabwe…

What have we done/are we doing?

… and a glance around PRIME in 2015 (so far…)

… and a few words from the lady herself:

“I joined the PRIME family last November as Finance Officer. My background in health was as a community pharmacist, but since taking early retirement I have been more active in my local Anglican church as Treasurer. I am also treasurer and trustee of two other local charities. When not counting money and adding up figures I enjoy music and play the flute and bass guitar (but not usually at the same time…) It is a pleasure to be working for PRIME and getting to know everyone, especially at the Annual Conference in March.”

Caring for the Vulnerable – trafficking, sexual/child abuse, prisoners/ex-offenders, refugees, disaster victims…

Friday 16th October 201510am to 4.30pm

CMF Conference Room6 Marshalsea RoadLondon SE1 1HL

PRIME is a registered charity in the UK. Registration Number: 1111521 Registered Address: Innovation Centre, Highfield Drive, St Leonards, East Sussex TN38 9UH

A child holds his grandparent's hand in Madagascar. © 2005 Nuno Lobito, Courtesy of Photoshare

This day follows on from World Mental Health Day on 10th October 2015, and is open to all tutors and other interested colleagues

A day to give us a greater understanding of their mental health needs and to examine how to equip our students, local health workers and church leaders to

work together within and alongside mental health services, especially in the developing world

PRIME Mental Health Day

Open to all tutors and other interested colleagues…

Values Added The Introduction and first two modules of the Values Added programme are well established and we are now creating the sessions to be presented module three. We

have completed ‘God, money and you’ and ‘Integrity in healthcare’ (which includes everyday ethics) and have sent them as a pilot for review; we have filmed the next two sessions, ‘Leadership’ and ‘Working in teams’; and the final topic, about managing healthcare systems, is in preparation.

As well as adding new study material we have been extending the availability of the Values Added programme. We have revised all our material to make it appropriate for a range of health professionals including the doctors in training grades for whom it was originally devised. And we are now ‘all electric’ – an on-line version of everything Values Added has been constructed and will be switched on very soon. More immediately, a YouTube Values Added channel makes the main VA video presentations freely accessible.

www.youtube.com/ValuesAdded

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If you would like to become a supporter of PRIME please consider making a donation or giving regular support. If you can help please complete this form and return it to: PRIME, Innovation Centre, Highfield Drive, St Leonards, East Sussex TN38 9UH

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With the extraordinary network of relationships that PRIME has built up over the past few years with universities, national Christian medical and nursing associations, missions and other national and international bodies, it is possible is for us to play a significant role in spreading the vision of whole person care globally. There are many people in most, if not every, country of the world who share our calling. Now is the time to bring them together into a worldwide network.

The PRIME Network is open to individuals involved in any aspect of healthcare committed to practising and teaching evidence-based medicine that includes psycho-spiritual and relational dimensions and embodies altruism and compassion. Network Members come from countries all around the world who are committed to whole person, compassionate care in their practise, example, teaching and encouragement of others. They are all also in sympathy with the teachings and example of Jesus.

Join us and help make compassionate whole person

healthcare available to all www.prime-international.org/

theprimenetwork