By Denise Sharon Cahill, Western Suburbs Weekly
COTTESLOE doctor Chris Curry enjoys the simplicity of under-developed countries.
The Fremantle Hospital emergency medicine senior consultant spends several months a year training doctors in places like Burma, Nepal and Papua New Guinea.
Dr Curry has recently returned from two weeks in Myanmar, where he helped launch an emergency medicine training program that was partly supported by Claremont-based International Skills and Training Institute in Health (ISTIH) that provides training for overseas medical professionals.
“The first week was an introductory course and the second week, which was supported by ISTIH, was about progressing the nuts and bolts of how to grow the training program,” he said.
“In Myanmar, the majority of illness is from infectious diseases like malaria, TB and non-communicable diseases: cardiovascular and cerebro-vascular disease, diabetes and kidney disease.
“Road trauma is also increasing.”
The program, which started in January, will ultimately train specialists in emergency medicine, who will train ambulance personnel, emergency nurses and doctors.
Dr Curry, who was born in Kenya and undertook elective training in four hospitals there, has been back to Burma twice since the training started.
He left for Nepal just days after speaking to the Western Suburbs Weekly with help from the Health Department that pays health professionals two weeks community service leave, and ISTIH funding.
“I have been involved with the development of emergency medicine in under developed countries for more than 10 years starting in Papua New Guinea,” Dr Curry said.