Twinning Update – May 2012
Saturday 19th May
Our twinning partners travelled back to Vietnam this morning, and what a fantastic twinning visit it has been. We have thoroughly enjoyed the visit by Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh to our country and our organisation. It has been a very busy ten days with training, the Parents Conference, home visits, visits to the National Centre and Our Lady\’s Children\’s Hospital, but it has been so worthwhile. We hope that our twinning partnership will grow in the coming years. We have also learned a lot from our visitors. It has been a pleasure to have Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh visit us, and we hope to see them back in Dublin very soon. We will certainly miss them both!
Friday 18th May
This morning Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh came to our office for the final day of training which included a discussion on the services we offer our members, and some volunteer training.
In the afternoon Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh went to the Jameson Distillery in Smithfield for a tour followed by a couple of hours shopping in the City Centre and dinner.
Thursday 17th May
First thing this morning Fiona Brennan took Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh on a visit to St. Patrick\’s Cathedral. After the ladies joined us in the office for training for the rest of the day. Topics covered were Children\’s Programmes and The IHS Board. Brian O\’Mahony and Debbie Greene also spent some time with Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh discussing a plan to help bring the organisation forward, which included looking at some comparisons of both countries, restructuring the board, and planning the visit by Brian O\’Mahony in September/October.
In the evening, the staff brought Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh to listen to some traditional Irish music in the City Centre. A great night was had by all, Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh tasted a Dublin Coddle and a glass of Guinness and seemed to enjoy it a lot.
Wednesday 16th May
Today Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh went on home visits to two families with Debbie Greene and Anne Duffy. Our thanks to the Stack family who were very hospitable, and showed our visitors the process involved in giving home treatment to one of their children. Our thanks also goes to Barbara Wynne who we also visited who chatted to Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh about her two little boys who have haemophilia.
In the afternoon, Dr. Mai joined Dr. Kevin Ryan, Consultant Haematologist in NCHCD for the adult haemophilia clinic, and Dr. Mai also visited the Orthopaedic Department and the Dentistry Department in St. James\’s Hospital, and Nina Storey brought Ms. Hanh to visit Christchurch Cathedral.
Later in the evening Brian O\’Mahony hosted an evening in his home. We had a great evening and the ladies seemed to enjoy the cuisine of Irish Stew, Bacon and Cabbage, Apple Tart, and Irish Coffee\’s. A big thanks to Brian and MaryRose for their hospitality.
Tuesday 15th May
Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh spent today in the office with the IHS staff and took part in training and workshops on Publications, Website, Events and the Irish Model of Care. Many questions were asked by Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh, and we were happy to answer and to help in any way we can.
After a long day of training, a twinning reception took place in the office with the staff, some board members, some members and some volunteers of the Society. It was a very enjoyable reception. Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh are very nice people, and we all seem to be getting on very well.
Members were very happy to meet our visitors and to talk to them about their experiences.
Monday 14th May
Fresh from attending the Parents Conference at the weekend, today Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh visited the National Centre for Hereditary Coagulation Disorders and Our Lady\’s Children\’s Hospital Crumlin. In the morning our guests were brought on a tour of the National Centre, the Physiotherapy Department, the Laboratory and the Hepatology Department. In the afternoon, Dr. Mai joined Dr. Beatrice Nolan, Consultant Haematologist for a haemophilia clinic in OLCHC.
Sunday 13th May
We are just back from our Parents Conference and Brian has just dropped our visitors back to their hotel which is very near the office. Our Parents Conference finished up today at lunch time. This morning Dr. Mai gave an excellent presentation to the adults on haemophilia care in Vietnam. It was a very informative presentation and clearly touched a lot of our members. Later Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh spoke to the children about care in their country, and participated in a chopstick game with the children. Our guests also joined Anne Duffy and all the mothers for the Mothers Workshop which they enjoyed a lot. Following lunch and a goodbye to all, we head back to Dublin on the bus.
Saturday 12th May
Today Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh joined I.H.S. members, staff and some board members for our Parents Conference. They were also introduced to the team at OLCHC. Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh seemed to enjoy attending the various talks and workshops on Self-Infusion, Bullying, and the Pep Programme. After the day of talks, the full group had dinner after which the children were entertained by a magician. Our visitors mingled very well with our members and seemed to gain a lot from listening to all the talks.
Friday 11th May
The Irish Haemophilia Society are delighted to welcome Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh, from the Vietnamese Haemophilia Society of Congenital Bleeding Disorders to Ireland. Their trip, which is part of the ongoing Twinning Programme between the two societies will see them take part in various training modules.
Today Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh travelled with us to Athlone for our Parents Conference this weekend where they will join our members for the Parents Conference. Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh will also speak on haemophilia care in Vietnam to the adults and to the children on Sunday. We hope they enjoy the conference and meeting members of our Society.
Thursday 10th May
Our twinning partners arrive from Vietnam this morning. Dr. Mai and Ms. Hanh were greeted at Dublin Airport by Debbie Greene. Later in the day Brian O\’Mahony brought the ladies into the City Centre for a walk, followed by dinner.
