Annual  General  Meeting 2001

 The Annual General Meeting of the Australian Board was held on 27th August 2011 at The Gap Uniting Church, in Brisbane, Queensland.

The meeting was chaired by the President, Prof. Ian Olver. The special guest of the Board was Professor Lionel Gnanaraj, who was representing the Director of CMC Vellore. Lionel is the professor of urology and medical superintendent of CMC and was accompanied by his wife Jessie during their visit to various branches of FOV around the country.

The meeting opened with devotions by Rev. Brian Lee. This was followed by a report presented by Lionel Gnanaraj. (The report is published as a separate article.)

Prof Ian Olver presented his Report. The President reported that it is proposed to update the website. The current website has been in place for many years and needs a fresh look. The new website could also provide for on-line donations to CMCH Vellore. The quote for this update is $1,800.  This proposal was accepted unanimously.

A new Director will be appointed for CMCH in 2012. It was agreed that the new Director should be invited to attend the 2013 AGM of the Australian Vellore Board. It was suggested that a member of the faculty, who has recently arrived in Australia, should be invited to attend and speak to the 2012 AGM.

Richard Caitens, the treasurer of the Board attended the recent CMC council meeting in June 2011. In his report he reiterated most of the things which were mentioned by Lionel in his speech and also gave his personal observation of how he perceived the institution and its functioning from an outsider’s point of view; which was very informative.

The various state representatives presented their annual reports on their activities and financial balance sheets. Richard Caitens presented the treasurers report. During the year 2010/11, the Board sent a total of $120,635.00  to CMC Vellore. Publicity officer Stephen Aseervatham in his report mentioned about the need for upgrading the website with the help of a professional and also suggested about producing a new information brochure to reflect the changes and advances  which has taken place in CMC since the last one was published in 1995.

All Office Bearers agreed to stand for re-election – they were all elected unopposed.

President                   Prof Ian Olver

Vice President            Dr Bella George

Secretary                   Mr John Rothwell

Treasurer                   Mr Richard Caitens

Publicity Officer          Dr Stephen Aseervatham

The next Annual General Meeting of the Australian Vellore Board is planned to be held in Hobart, Tasmania, on Saturday 18^th August 2012. The Tasmanian Friends of Vellore will be consulted on these
arrangements.

The President, Prof Ian Olver, thanked all those present for taking part in the 2011   Annual General Meeting, in particular he thanked Prof Lionel Gnanaraj for coming to  Australia at this time and for contributing to the Meeting with such an interesting and informative address. He also thanked the Queensland branch of the FOV and The Gap Uniting Church for their hospitality.

Alison Vickery (Acting secretary)

 

President’s Report – AGM 2001

Ian Olver AM

It has been another productive year for the Australian Friends of Vellore. We have been pleased to have Western Australia represented through Renu John as a contributor to this meeting and our interim national teleconferences. Despite an attempt to identify a group who may represent the Northern Territory the population changes regularly and at present we were unable to find a suitable contact who may be interested in being the nucleus of a Northern Territory Friends of Vellore.

The communication between CMC and us has been regular and helpful. We are now receiving regular lists of visitors rom Australia to CMC to enable us to follow up and engage with the medical students who do elective terms in Vellore. It was wonderful to be able to have our treasurer Richard Caitens represent us at the January Board meeting in Vellore and gain first-hand knowledge of both the main campus and the new Chittoor development.

A further 1000 copies of the CMC DVD were made and we have already distributed 500 of these. I have enquired about Person to Person brochures from Vellore and am awaiting a reply.

I have obtained a quote for developing the capability of the Australian FOV website so that potential donors can donate on line. I have also asked for a quote on upgrading and refreshing the website
along with this to attract more business and make it easier to find on search engines.

Our practice of having national teleconferences between AGM’s to conduct business has enabled us to be responsive to the issues that arise. One point of discussion was around the tax deductible donations through the national body. Our tax deductibility status depends on the donated monies that attract this go through the national account. This does not preclude individuals donating to Vellore without claiming a deduction or donating through other charities which attract tax deductible status. Another issue was the use of the money sent form Australia. The default option is that it goes to the Endowment fund or it can be designated to go to special funds which have been established at CMC as well as allocations for Fellowships. Occasionally the Australian FOV will respond to a special request from the Director for a particular project to be funded and this will be considered by the Board (as was the case with producing the DVD). In previous years the Australian Board has referred direct requests for funds
from individuals or programs in Vellore back through the Directorate so that the Director can inform us of the priorities for utilizing donated funds. A final issue of fundraising was brought to our attention by a long term donor. It is clear that we are now supporting a highly sophisticated hospital with many tertiary specialties and this is quite different from the situation when the Australian FOV was first formed. Marketing the current needs and best use of donated funds for Vellore will require
a change of traditional message.

We are pleased to have Professors Lionel Gnanaraj and Jessie with us as guests representing Vellore. It adds greatly to our engagement with members across the country to have such experienced
faculty available to update us on the progress at CMC and rekindle our enthusiasm.

I met with Raju Titus Chacko at an oncology meeting in Chicago in June, and finally shared some perceptions on structural change to maximize patient communication and senior staff usage in the oncology clinic at Vellore. He shared the news of his appointment as an Associate Director of the new Chittoor campus.

I attended part of the Vellore alumni meeting in Adelaide in 2010 and have been invited to attend the upcoming meeting in Sydney. It is inspiring to see their continued support of CMC while they
make considerable contributions to medical progress in Australia. Close
relationships between the FOV and alumni are essential for providing the most effective
support for CMC Vellore.

I note with sadness the death of one of the Founders of the Australian FOV Reg Walker and am grateful for his ongoing legacy. I had the pleasure of meeting him several times over my last few years
in Sydney at various FOV functions which he was still keenly supporting.

Finally I wish to pay tribute to the Executive officers of the Board. Stephen Aseervatham provides invaluable support because of his long experience and knowledge of how CMC and FOV operate
and he is always most generous with his support and advice. He also does an invaluable job keeping the website current and fresh. I thank John Rothwell for his secretarial work and the insights he shares with me, Richard Caitens for his long serving role as treasurer and Bella George in her role as Vice President.

I hope to visit CMC Vellore in January and look forward to working with the Australian FOV to discern and pursue the best methods of best supporting CMC and the it service to those in medical need in India.

 

Report by Dr. Lionel Gnanaraj at the AGM of the
Australian Vellore Board

 CMCH Vellore is still in the top 3 Medial Colleges in India. CMCH has the largest output within the various medical societies and forums in research and education and maintains freedom for academic innovation and growth.

Recently the State Government has unconditionally granted permission for the enrolment of 100 MBBS students per year (previously 60) from 2012. As well as, Post graduate seats in medical,
surgical and allied health services are to be increased from 112 to 324 and BSc Nursing from 80 to 150. The CMC fee for undergraduate medical students remains at $60/student/year; this makes the education accessible to students from many different backgrounds and gives protection from government interference (currently there is 1 government seat for a medical student).

CMCH needs more space to meet the new needs of this increase in student numbers and 9 new allied Health courses!  Some of these requirements are being met.  At Kagithapattarai, about 2 km from the main hospital, the new College of Nursing and Student Nurses Hostel have been built. This includes a new large library building. A new OPD has been built on Arcot Rd opposite the hospital.  A new Research Facility is established near Bagayam and at the new Chittor Campus (45mins from Vellore), the OPD building has been started and there are future plans for obstetrics and A&E Departments. The local people welcome this development. A property at Kannigapuram has been purchased for resident and research facilities. Education & Training programmes continue with partners with 42 mission hospitals.

The workload in the existing facilities has increase during the past year – each day there are now 6,183 Outpatients and 2,166 Inpatients as well as increases in the work of the allied health services.

All areas of the CMC&H are expanding with outreach continuing in CHAD, RUSHA, LCECU, CONCH and MAHE.   Distance Education now trains 600 Post-graduate students in Family Medicine; 150 General Practice’s are assisted with training and 35 other courses are provided.   There are now 8,475 members of staff and study leave is encouraged for faculty members and sabbatical leave is available
for medical, nursing, allied health and general administration staff as well as some Training Fellowships.   The Development Office provides publicity for all Departments of CMCH.   Although the patients pay 99% of their costs, the finances are assisted by endowments for education, research, and the care of poor patients