Search
Conference 2011
POST POLIO SUPPORT SOCIETY NZ Incorporated
ANNUAL MEETING & NATIONAL CONFERENCE
The Quality Hotel Plymouth International
Friday 12th August to Sunday August 14th 2011
“Living Well with Polio”
2011 Conference Report
The New Plymouth Conference and AGM was one of the best ones we have held, at least in my opinion. Officially opened by Hon Harry Duynhoven, Mayor of New Plymouth, it was well organised with a great line up of speakers, well attended, good food, good networking and a good atmosphere was enjoyed by all participants.
The theme “Living Well With Polio” was re-enforced by those who presented on the these subjects:
Peter Sharplin is the General Manager of Queen Elizabeth Health in Rotorua and he gave an outline of the history of this rehabilitation facility. He spoke about the treatment provided at QE Health, who is eligible for funding to go there, and how to be referred. There is a possibility of QE Health being opened up to people with polio nationwide.
Dr Liz Falkner gave a timely talk on Maximising Visits to your GP. She drew on her own experiences as a GP and gave points on how to prepare for your doctor’s appointment, prioritising your list of questions and ailments and taking an advocate with you to keep the focus on outcomes expected.
Persistent Pain was the topic presented by Dr Lorna Fox from the Taranaki Base Hospital Pain Clinic. This had very comprehensive information on types of pain including 10 points in pain management skills.
Jeremy Morris from Sleeptech spoke on Sleep Apnoea. His presentation is very timely as many people with or without Post Polio Syndrome face this sleeping disorder. He covered things like how to promote better sleep, relaxation to help sleep, and outlined the symptoms of sleep Apnoea.
Foot Care was the subject covered by Carleen Gibbons from Taranaki Podiatry. The anatomy of the foot (26 bone, 33 joints and 100 muscles, ligaments and tendons) and treatment options for foot problems were some of the points she spoke about.
The conference had a focus on the work of Rotary to END POLIO NOW. Pat and Melva Waite began out time with a lively slide presentation of their trips to India and their joy in being able to help immunise village children to prevent polio. Barbara Williams from Rotary gave the closing message summing up the history and efforts of Rotary to globally eliminate polio.
The conference dinner speaker was a local Taranaki identity Roger Tonkin who spoke about his radio career, his travel and various other antics.
On the business side of the conference the AGM saw the president and board re-elected and a new board member, Johanna Korrent from Levin, added to the board of management. There was time for delegates to recount their polio stories and plenty of time to mix and mingle between sessions.
A brief outline of each message, other Conference topics, and photographs are in the September Newsletter which can be downloaded here
DVD recordings of the sessions are available for purchase at: