1,200 proċedura mill-Pain Clinic fl-isptar Mater Dei

1,200 proċedura mill-Pain Clinic fl-isptar Mater Dei

Analysis of the first National Sexual Helath Survey underway

The Directorate for Health Information and Research within the Ministry for Health, the Elderly and Community Care is in the process of analising and evaluating data collected from the first National Sexual Health survey.  The implementation of this survey follows from and fulfills part of the research recommendations made by the National Sexual Health Strategy launched in 2011 by the Ministry of Health, the Elderly and Community Care. 

The National Sexual Health survey is a representative study among the population aged 16 to 40 assessing the population’s attitudes towards sexuality and sexual health; their knowledge about sexual health related issues and their sexual practices.   Fieldwork has been conducted over the first three months of 2012 among a representative sample of Maltese residents within the said age group.  

This study has collected detailed information on a number of important indicators addressing topics such as sexual education, sexual competence, sexual activity, risky behaviours, knowledge about sexually transmitted infections, knowledge and use of contraceptive methods and knowledge about treatment and screening facilities.  The information from this study will help develop targeted educational and health promotion campaigns and lead to the creation of user driven sexual health services to meet the needs of the population.   

Data input and analysis is now underway in order to publish a report on the findings.

The respondents who have kindly given their time for the completion of the survey have been provided with a USB drive containing a range of information leaflets and documents on the subject of sexual health.  In addition, they have also been given the opportunity to take part in a lottery to win an iPad.  

This lottery was held at the offices of the Lotteries and Gaming Authority on the 18^th June 2012 and Mr Emanuel Schembri’s winning ticket was drawn.  

During the presentation Minister for Health, the Elderly and Community Care Hon Joe Cassar thanked Mr Schembri and all the participants who contributed in this important phase of the research.  Minister Cassar said that the actual publication of the Malta’s first National Sexual Health Strategy was an important step forward towards a better informed, healthier society.  Research is the key to understand beleifs, perceptions and behaviours and therefore the contribution of every individual will result in an informed approach.

Minister Cassar thanked all the professionals at the Directorate for Health Information and Research whose hard work normally goes by unnoticed until results of various surveys are published.  This Directorate helped the Department of Health plan and create various strategies, from which the general public gained in a direct manner through services and initiatives.

Imniedi taħriġ professjonali dwar il-komunikazzjoni ma pazjenti f’mumenti delikati

Kura għall-Kanċer - Imniedi taħriġ professjonali dwar il-komunikazzjoni ma pazjenti f’mumenti delikati

Hekk kif kien imħabbar fil-Pjan Nazzjonali għall-Kanċer illum ingħata bidu għall-programm ta taħriġ dwar komunikazzjoni għall-professjonisti nvoluti fil-kura għall-kanċer.  Il-Programm ta taħriġ għandu l-iskop li jħarreġ lill professjonisti dwar kif tiġi kkomunikata aħbar ħażina jew delikata lill-pazjent kif ukoll lill familjari.

Waqt l-ewwel sessjoni ta taħriġ il-Ministru għas-Saħħa, l-Anzjani u Kura fil-Komunita Joe Cassar qal li l-programm huwa riżultat tar-riċerka li saret bi preparament għat-tfassil tal-Pjan Nazzjonali għall-Kanċer.  Fil-fatt, minn din ir-riċerka kien ħareġ li ikun hemm benefiċċju għall-pazjent jekk il-professjonisti varji ikunu wkoll imħarrġa fil-metodi differenti ta komunikazzjoni.

Kien għalekk, li bħala parti minn dan il-pjan, illum ingħata bidu għal-dan il-programm ta taħriġ li permezz tiegħu il-professjonist se jkun aktar ippreparat biex jikkomunika b’mod effettiv ma persuni differenti f’mument delikat.  Il-Ministru Joe Cassar qal li l-qasam tal-Onkoloġija hu qieħed partikolari, minħabba li kemm il-pazjent u il-familjari jiġu esposti għall-biża kbira mill-ħsieb li wieħed jista jitlef ħajtu.

Dr Cassar qal li mill-ħin li jiġi stabilit li l-pazjent ikollu tumur jew kanċer, tibda l-ansjeta u dan wassal għal ħafna mistoqsijiet .  Għalhekk it-taħriġ mhux se jiffoka biss fuq kif wieħed iwassal aħbar ħażina, imma wkoll fuq l-aspetti kollha relatati maż-żmien li l-pażjent u l-familjari se jgħaddu f’kuntatt mas-servizzi tas-saħħa inkluż ukoll il-mumenti fejn il-pazjent jitlef il-ġlieda għall-ħajja.    Joe Cassar qal li l-iskop ta dan it-taħriġ hu dak li l-komunikazzjoni f’dawn iċ-ċirkostanzi tkun effettiva, u fl-istess ħin il-professjonist ikun aktar ippreparat biex jiffaċċja dawn il-mumenti.

It-taħriġ se jkun imwassal minn Fr. Joseph Calleja BA, MA, MSc, ECP u Ms Mireille Pellegrini Petit B.Soc u se jkun imqassam f’sessjonijiet ta 4 siegħat għall 4 ġimgħat u se jsir fi grupp żgħar.

Il-Ministru Cassar irringrazzja lill-professjonisti kollha li huma involuti f’dan il-qasam filwaqt li rrikonoxxa l-fatt li l-ħidma tagħhom mhix waħda faċli u tirrikjedi impenn u dedikazzjoni kontinwa.  Iżda huwa wkoll fatt li din l-istess ħidma iġġib magħhha s-sodisfazzjon li tkun għent persuna fl-aktar mument diffiċli ta ħajjitha. 

  

New opportunities within the health care sector

Collaboration between the Department of Health and MCAST results in new health and social care courses

The Department of Health and MCAST will be strengthening and extending their existing collaborations to provide students with the relevant training opportunities and work experience required to achieve successful careers in the health sector.

This commitment was confirmed during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Health and the College’s Institute of Applied Science, on Wednesday 13 June 2012, at the Ministry for Health, the Elderly and Community Care, in Valletta. As part of this new collaboration, the two sides have already concluded an extensive consultation process to launch a new two-year full-time course aimed at preparing students for a career as a paramedic aide. The role of a paramedic aide is to assist various health professionals by performing clinical and administrative activities, which will contribute to the optimisation of interventions and of the overall service delivery in the health sector.

Students who take up this new MQF Level 4 course, the MCAST-BTEC Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care (Health Studies), which begins in October, will benefit from an extensive work experience programme within various departments of the Ministry of Health, the Elderly and Community Care. These experiences will encourage students to learn about the different environments where they can work as paramedic aides. Eventually, the students focus their studies with specialised theoretical and practical training related to their preferred area.

The new agreement between MCAST and the Ministry was signed by Dr. Natasha Azzopardi Muscat, MHEC Chief Medical Officer, and Prof. Maurice Grech, MCAST Principal and CEO. It provides for ongoing collaborations to identify training and skilling gaps within the health industry, to increase the number of specialist MCAST vocational programmes related to the health sector, to cater for new specialist areas such as podiatry, pre-hospital, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, and to strengthen the quality assurance mechanisms of the vocational practice modules that relate to these specialist strands. The Ministry and the College will also work together to promote these careers and to encourage stronger student participation in these courses.

[Minister for Health, the Elderly and Community Care Hon Joe Cassar thanked the representatives of both MCAST and the Department of Health who have been meeting and fine tuning the MOU for the past months.  The Minister pointed out that this is where the Governments policy as regards Health and Education are converging, with the final result being a strengthened Health Care system from which the main beneficiary will be the patient.

“We continuously monitor our services across the health care system.  This provides us with a clear picture of what systems and processes are working and what can be improved.  Human Resources are of course crucial for such systems to work and being able to identify a need allow us to provide to satisfy it in a convenient manner.  You are today witnessing the result of such monitoring and collaboration with an educational system that is providing the system with well trained health care workers.”  The Minister pointed out that health care services are on the increase, and health care workers are being given more possibilities to specialise in specific areas.  This not only provides a good possibility of employment but also the opportunity to further invest in a health care career.

Prof. Grech explained that MCAST’s collaboration with various sectors of the Maltese economy and with major employers is the cornerstone of all the College’s full-time and part-time courses. The new MCAST Institute of Applied Science has quickly adapted to this tradition. It has already consulted various industries, including the healthcare services, the pharmaceutical and the environmental sectors, to provide new training opportunities for Maltese learners. In this case, MCAST is working with the Ministry, the largest healthcare employer in Malta, to offer students a rewarding learning experience for the acquisition of the relevant qualifications and skills to succeed in this sector and to provide well-trained workers who can effectively contribute to the ongoing improvement of healthcare services in Malta. He noted that this collaboration has already borne fruit for MCAST’s prospective students, who will be able to apply for the new extended diploma course in a few weeks’ time, when the College starts receiving applications for its 161 full-time courses beginning in October.

“This course also contributes to our efforts to strengthen the value of apprenticeships, placements, and other workplace training opportunities within our courses. We are currently working on the introduction of new systems, in collaboration with the Employment and Training Corporation and the industry, whereby employers are provided with a schedule of processes and tasks which students would be obliged to experience during the work training. This will ensure that our students are highly prepared to swiftly adapt to and succeed in their place of work, as soon as they complete their studies,” Prof. Grech concluded.

 

More details about the new Extended Diploma course and MCAST’s other 160 full-time programmes is available in the new MCAST 2012/2013 Full-time Courses Prospectus, which can be viewed online on www.mcast.edu.mt. Prospective students are also invited to collect their copy of the Prospectus, and learn more about MCAST campus life during the MCAST Expo, between 23 and 26 June, at the MCAST Main Campus, Paola. Contact the College on information@mcast.edu.mt or 2398 7100 for more information.