Darling Downs Health staff to speak on the world stage

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Two profile photos of staff members Hwee Sin Chong and Rica Lacey
Executive Director of Queensland Rural Medical Service Dr Hwee Sin Chong and Director of Indigenous Health Rica Lacey

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Two leaders in local health will travel from Toowoomba to Dubai next month, as the only Australians selected to speak at a global forum.

Darling Downs Health Executive Director of Queensland Rural Medical Service Dr Hwee Sin Chong and Director of Indigenous Health Rica Lacey said they’re looking forward to discussing lessons learned from the pandemic.

The theme of this year’s World Hospital Congress of the International Hospital Federation is ‘Global Learnings, Local Actions: Sustainable Healthcare.’

Dr Chong is excited to share her expertise in leadership development for Rural Generalist doctors across Queensland.

“I’ll be presenting the work the Queensland Rural Generalist Pathway has achieved over the last six years in developing rural medical leaders and what we learned from this. My hope is that other nations will also invest in their rural workforce leadership development,” Dr Chong said.

“Attending this forum is a great opportunity for us to not only share our own experiences from Queensland but to learn from some of the most renowned healthcare professionals around the world.

“I think it’ll be a really inspirational event, with plenty of innovative ideas for us to bring home,” she said.

In 2021, Dr Chong was also selected for the International Hospital Federation’s Young Executive Leaders program, and will be attending alumni leadership events.

Ms Lacey has more than 10 years’ experience in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and is eager to collaborate with international senior healthcare staff.

“A knowledge-sharing experience like this is invaluable to ensure we continue to provide high-quality care to all communities across our region,” Ms Lacey said.

“My panel’s topic of discussion is around optimising experiences and ongoing learnings from the pandemic which will be quite interesting.

“I’m really looking forward to meeting with participants from different countries and talking about leadership, service delivery and innovative ideas,” she said.

The 45th IHF World Hospital Congress attracts delegates from more than 50 countries including France, United States, Spain, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom and Brazil.

It will be held on 9 - 11 November 2022 in the United Arab Emirates.