St John Ambulance is pioneering a paramedic program, which is expected to form the foundation upon which realistic enhancements to health care in PNG can be attained.
13 staff from St John Ambulance are the first to undergo this high-quality ambulance paramedic training program.
The program started in July and will run through August, covering two courses: Intensive Care Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technician.
The two courses will be taught simultaneously – ICP course for health extension officers and EMT course for existing ambulance officers.
Training is delivered by New South Wales Ambulance ICP Educators Philip Proust ASM and Jacinta Young.
This is a first-of-its-kind paramedic training program in the Pacific Region, designed and delivered in conjunction with senior PNG doctors, local ambulance officers, paramedics and nurses.
While the role of a paramedic in both countries remain fundamentally the same, St John Ambulance Chief Officer Matthew Cannon, also a paramedic, says the types of emergencies faced however, are vastly contrasting.
For this, Cannon said adjustments to the Australian course were made to ensure that training was in context to the health care needs of PNG –which includes higher rates of trauma, snakebite and obstetric emergencies.
Also in the country is the NSW Chief Superintendent Alan Morrison, Director Education for NSW Ambulance, to formalise relations between the two services. The ongoing collaboration will strengthen paramedic education in PNG for years to come.
The Australian High Commissioner paid a visit to the SJA headquarters this morning to see and personally thank the paramedic educators from Australia.
He hopes to see this go out to provinces beyond Moresby in the coming years.