Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive
This whakataukī is a reminder that when we share our resources and knowledge, we all benefit.
Examples of how we can do this are:
- Working together to solve problems
- Sharing our knowledge and skills with others
- Supporting each other to achieve our goals
These are all aims of the New Zealand Institute of Healthcare Engineering, an organisation I feel proud to represent.
This year has been a great year for the institute.
My tenure as president began with the conference in Christchurch in November last year. I think we can all agree that the conference was very successful and well attended. It was also good to put COVID behind us, and be able to meet in groups again, having postponed the previous conference.
In May of this year I attend the Institute of Healthcare Engineering Australia (IHEA) Annual Conference in Adelaide, Australia. The IHEA is our sister organisation in Australia, and the NZIHE and IHEA have had close ties for many years. A reciprocal exchange scheme was set up many years ago between the two organisations where we would send a member across to the other organisations conference. This year, I attended the conference with Matthew Flemming from Te Matau a Māui Hawkes Bay. It was an excellent conference, and much was gained by our attendance. For me, a highlight was being able to build ties with the IHEA. The IHEA is also a much larger organisation than the NZIHE. As a result of our connection with them, we are able to better serve our members, grow our organisation and connect with our sector.
Following the conference, I spent time with the Clinical Engineering staff of the Royal Adelaide Hospital and South Australia BME. The Royal Adelaide Hospital is one of the worlds most technically advanced hospitals, and the building has a number of unique and impressive features I have not seen before. South Australia BME is responsible for the management of assets across 66 hospitals in South Australia, from their base in Adelaide. They have put considerable time and resources into the implementation of AS/NZS3551, and there is much we could learn from them.
This year we have made several changes to the way we operate, and give value to our members.
- We have engaged Composition as our Conference Organisers
- We are publishing a quarterly newsletter
- Dr Dani Forster of The Medical Room has run two training sessions on AS/NZS3551 for our members, with more to come.
- We are offering our members regular webinars courtesy of the IHEA. Topics have included:
- Water quality and corrosion
- Net Zero
- UVI and Infection Prevention
- Air Handling Units
- EV Power Supplies
This year we have experienced a significant increase in paid members of the organisation. Many members have joined to take advantage of the education opportunities offered by the institute, and this is certainly an area in which we see further opportunities to grow.
The success of the Institute is not possible without the help and efforts of the Executive Members. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to all the Executive Members who have helped us have such a successful year.
I have listed the objectives of the NZIHE at the bottom of this page, as I would like to remind you all of why we are here. These are great objectives, of which I am proud to promote and encourage. Our organisation is only as great as the sum of its members, and I would urge you all to get involved where you can. If you see opportunities, take them, if you have ideas, share them. If you can teach, please get in touch, as the NZIHE offer several ways to reach out the the wider hospital engineering community. Emerging from the darkness that was COVID, and with the changes taking place with Te Whatu Ora/ Health New Zealand, we are in a time of great change.
It is by working together, we can achieve great things going forward.
Kia kaha, Kia māia, Kia manawanui!
Michael Brown
President
New Zealand Institute of Healthcare Engineering.
Our objectives are:
- To promote interest in technical aspects of healthcare engineering to improve the quality of care experienced by patients of healthcare providers.
- To pool technical knowledge and experience and to disseminate this knowledge to others in the industry to improve healthcare in New Zealand
- To encourage, assist and educate members to improve their skills and qualifications.
- To participate in the development and promotion of quality and safety standards in all aspects of healthcare engineering.
- To promote management skills applicable in healthcare engineering management.
