The West Sepik Provincial Health Authority is strengthening emergency care at the Sandaun Provincial Hospital in Vanimo through workforce training, a standardized triage system and practical support for frontline healthcare workers.
A team of senior emergency care clinicians from Port Moresby General Hospital, the National Department of Health and Pacific Adventist University spent two weeks at Sandaun Provincial Hospital working with the local Emergency Department team.
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The engagement provided workforce training and support to strengthen emergency care systems as part of an emergency care outreach initiative supported by the NDOH, PMGH, National St John Ambulance Papua New Guinea and the Regional Emergency and Critical Care Systems Strengthening Initiative (RECSI).
The outreach received support from senior West Sepik Provincial Health Authority leadership, including Chief Executive Officer Stanley Masi, Director of Curative Health Services Dr Stanley Bita and Deputy Director of Clinical Health Nursing Steven Yaworam.
During the first week, Dr Garry Nou, Senior Emergency Physician and NDOH Deputy Chief of Emergency Medicine, and Senior Emergency Nurse Angela Kapao from PMGH worked with Sandaun Provincial Hospital Emergency Department Doctor Dr David Aisanga and ED Nurse Manager Sr Gayleen Loup to deliver triage training.
The training used the World Health Organization Interagency Integrated Triage Tool (IITT), a three-tier system developed by WHO, the International Committee of the Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières.
The IITT has been adopted as the national triage tool for emergency departments in Papua New Guinea and provides a structured approach to categorizing patients according to the urgency of their condition.
Sr Rose Kila Raomae, Emergency and Outpatient Department Supervisor at Sandaun Provincial Hospital, said the system would help staff prioritizes patients according to the severity of their conditions.
“The IITT system will help prioritize patients to be seen in order of the severity of their condition, not on a first-come, first-served basis,” Sr Raomae said.
She said the system would also provide staff with a standardized approach that could improve patient flow, Emergency Department capacity and the overall delivery of emergency care.
In the second week, Dr Nou and Sr Kapao, both Basic Emergency Care (BEC) master trainers, were joined by BEC master trainer Sr Doreen Pepi Farickwa from PAU.
The team conducted a four-day BEC course for 12 healthcare workers from Sandaun Provincial Hospital, including nurses, medical officers, health extension officers and community health workers.
Developed by WHO in collaboration with the ICRC and the International Federation for Emergency Medicine, BEC provides frontline healthcare workers with a structured approach to managing acutely ill and injured patients, where early intervention can save lives.
Two Laerdal Emergency Learning Lab training kits donated by Laerdal Global Health and DAK International Network were used during the course and will remain at Sandaun Provincial Hospital for future emergency care training.
“The BEC course is an important tool for up-skilling frontline healthcare workers and building an effective emergency care system. It is such an important course for Vanimo, as it is training staff to deliver better emergency care and improve the quality of emergency care services in our emergency department,” Sr Raomae said.
The training contributes to the national roll-out and expansion of the BEC programme across Papua New Guinea, which has been incorporated into the National Health Standards.
The outreach also supports efforts to develop integrated emergency, critical and operative care in West Sepik, in line with World Health Assembly Resolution WHA76.2 of 2023.
The West Sepik Provincial Health Authority has expressed interest in developing critical care services in the province, with the triage and BEC training providing a foundation for further emergency and critical care capacity building.
The authority has also encouraged further training initiatives to continue strengthening the skills of its emergency care workforce.
The emergency care outreach initiative is being replicated at other provincial health facilities across Papua New Guinea, allowing specialist emergency department clinicians to provide targeted training and health systems support based on local needs, resources and operating environments.
RECSI is funded by the Australian Government through the Partnerships for a Healthy Region initiative, while National St John Ambulance Papua New Guinea provided logistical support for the outreach visit.