President Jane Davies was delighted to welcome Professor Ros Bryant to the April meeting of the club.

She had worked for over six years in the Department of Health Care Studies at Swansea University before accepting a senior position at City University London.

It was here that she was appointed as Professor. Her specialist subject is Primary Health Care, defined as a service concerned with people and their communities, as well as health problems.

Professor Bryant’s talk focused on her work as a consultant for a new health project in Northern Macedonia, under the auspices of the World Health Organisation (WHO).

North Macedonia is situated in South-eastern Europe, bordering Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, Serbia and Kosovo to the north, and Albania to the west. Its surrounding countries were all part of what was previously known as Yugoslavia.

In January 1992, the country declared its full independence from the Former Yugoslavia. The processes of democratization and economic transition, though successful, were long and hard, and now the country is on its way to membership in NATO and the European Union.

The population of N. Macedonia is similar to that of Wales and many people are on low incomes. Like Wales, tourism in North Macedonia is a large factor of the nation's economy, with its abundance of natural and cultural attractions.

Mother Teresa, for example, was born in Skopje, the capital city, and the Museum in her honour attracts many visitors. N. Macedonia also, like Wales, has a World Cup qualifying soccer team.

North Macedonia was the first country to develop a Primary Health Care system, using professional providers to build up a people centred quality service. Professor Bryant acted as consultant, helping to coordinate existing medical practices and improve education provision for providers of medical services.

Qualifying students that enter nursing are usually too poor to go into other professions. Similarly, most GPs have completed basic training but have to employ nurses to handle records and some health promotion. In 2020 a revised plan on the development programme was established in order to develop knowledge and skills.

North Macedonia launched its primary health care (PHC) pilot sites as part of the PHC reforms in 2019, with support from the WHO.

The reforms capitalise on the country’s strong points, including full demonstration of the capacity of the nurses and doctors working in PHC facilities, integration at all levels of care, and the electronic health information system Moj Termin.

The new model centres on meeting the health needs of families and communities. It provides health promotion, preventive, curative and rehabilitative care.

Professor Bryant concluded her talk by again making comparisons between Wales and N. Macedonia. Both are small countries and have dual languages.

Everybody in Wales knows everyone else, as is the case in North Macedonia. However, the most important similarity between N Macedonia and Wales is that, because of poverty, levels of health status are considerably lower than that of people who live in more affluent areas. This means that their life expectancy may be as much a ten years less.

President Jane thanked Ros for her very informative and interesting talk. The next meeting will be at 11 am on Friday, May 6 at the Plas Hyfryd Hotel. New members are always welcome.